Make no mistake; Wataru Endo massively outperformed expectations final season.
The Japan captain arrived from Stuttgart to a lot confusion after Liverpool missed out on Moises Caicedo to Chelsea in summer season 2023.
Having had a £110m bid accepted for the Ecuadorian, signing Endo for nearer to £16m was pretty underwhelming. Many followers hadn’t even heard of the 31-year-old and his debut in opposition to Newcastle was so unhealthy a piece wrote him off instantly.
However in 2023/24, Endo outperformed Caicedo by a long way; most notably within the EFL Cup Remaining when our no.3 put in a genuinely heroic efficiency alongside a group of Academy gamers in opposition to Chelsea’s billion-pound-bottle-jobs.
Round Christmas, Endo compelled himself into the facet as a daily and he loved an distinctive run, culminating in his finest outing of the season at dwelling to Manchester Metropolis.
Endo outplayed Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne. No person does that. He was magnificent and there have been not any Reds doubting his contribution.
Like his team-mates although, Endo dropped off on the finish of the season when Liverpool didn’t chase for a title we had been bookies favourites for with six video games left. He regarded drained. However he performed greater than anybody actually anticipated and total his first marketing campaign in England was a giant success.
Just a few weeks again, Liverpool rejected a suggestion for Endo from Marseille, value £11.8m based on BBC Sport. Based on James Pearce of the Athletic, the first cause for the Reds rejecting the method was as a result of a scarcity of substitute choices obtainable out there this summer season.
The experiences counsel although that Liverpool can be open to a sale if the provide was sufficiently big and that alternatives to usher in one other defensive midfielder come up.
Endo performed the first-half of Arne Slot’s first pre-season pleasant in opposition to Actual Betis and was woeful. It was a comically unhealthy efficiency, however clearly not a lot ought to be judged on pre-season friendlies.
The principle query although is whether or not Endo fits the possession fashion of soccer Slot is making an attempt to introduce.
Below Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool had been about transitions, and because of this, we conceded numerous possibilities and territory. Even in opposition to poor sides, we gave away targets and capturing possibilities and it finally value us in our pursuit of the title, together with wayward ending.
Slot desires his group to take much less dangers. Basically, he desires Liverpool to play extra like Arsenal and Manchester Metropolis.
“Prior to now it was a rush to get the ball again, a bit too direct, up and down, up and down. Now we need to have all of the ball and utterly kill a group,” a smiling Curtis Jones stated earlier than the Actual Betis match [Sky Sports].
Crew-mate Harvey Elliott was equally as excited…
“It’s very elegant, Dutch fashion, it’s very good. The fashion of play is lots completely different. It’s extra about in possession now,” he instructed BBC Sport.
“The gamers are excited, we play sure patterns, it’s a good buzz across the group and the lads are excited to use it in video games.
“It’s a contemporary begin for everybody. I don’t assume it’s nerves however pleasure. I believe we [will learn it] in a short time to be sincere. We now have seen within the final recreation there have been sure moments the place the wonderful soccer was free-flowing.”
Does this sort of game-plan, when the midfielders management the tempo and preserve the ball swimsuit Endo? Perhaps not. He really can play fairly good through-the-line passes however he’s too sluggish on the ball and infrequently his first-touch lets him down.
Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Elliott and hopefully Dom Szoboszlai and Stefan Bajcetic will thrive on this fashion. It’s a crying disgrace Thiago has retired and isn’t 5 years youthful, as he can be the perfect midfielder on this tactic, however there we go.
For me, Endo might be expendable. He’s a terrific individual and a great footballer, however Liverpool aren’t profitable a title with him on the base of our midfield.
£11m isn’t sufficient, and we may most likely get £20m contemplating how his inventory has risen. That is dependant on securing a substitute, in fact, and it actually doesn’t appear to be one is imminent.
Liverpool are the one facet within the high 5 leagues who haven’t signed a single participant this summer season. That’s fairly loopy. I count on us to signal two first-team choices, even when it’s 4 we actually want, though Richard Hughes is leaking nothing – we’re all going to search out out on the final minute.
