Why Liverpool may have unearthed a gem in Endo

Joe Bradshaw, BBC Sport

It’s the worst-kept secret in football. Liverpool need a defensive midfielder. Any defensive midfielder.

Alexis Mac Allister may have acquitted himself soundly in that role on his debut at Chelsea but the Fabinho-sized hole was very apparent in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield.

Step forward Wataru Endo. A 30-year-old Japanese journeyman from Bundesliga strugglers Stuttgart. Hardly a signing to set pulses racing.

And yet, dig a little deeper, and unearth a leader, a fan favourite and someone, who for the fraction of the cost of Moises Caicedo, could actually be a real gem at Anfield.

Last season, Stuttgart only stayed up courtesy of victory in the relegation play-offs over Hamburger SV. Despite that, Endo still had the third-most ball recoveries from midfielders in the entire league.

Indeed, his tackle numbers were the ninth-highest and he cleared the ball with his head more than any other midfielder in the division.

If further evidence of his combative style is required, he even wears a gumshield on the pitch.

However, he’s not just a hard man – he completed 1,164 passes, eighth in the league and behind only the aforementioned Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in terms of Liverpool midfielders.

Don’t underestimate his goalscoring threat either. In the 92nd minute of the final game of the 2021-22 season, Endo’s bulldozed header ensured Stuttgart dramatically stayed in the division.

Since rumours of a Reds move emerged, pundits have been quick to praise the Japan midfielder, who starred in his country’s uplifting run to the last 16 at the Qatar World Cup.

Ex-Premier League striker Jan Aage Fjortoft dubbed him “one of the best in his position in the Bundesliga, external” while his former team-mate Mario Gomez waxed lyrical about him, external to European football writer Andy Brassell.

As Brighton’s hitherto unknown Kaoru Mitoma proved last season, it is folly to write off members of this talented generation of Japanese players.

Endo is the driving force of that eminently watchable side. He could soon be the driving force of Klopp’s Liverpool rebuild.

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