In August 2023, Liverpool surprised everyone when they signed Wataru Endo from Vfb Stuttgart for £16 million. At that time, some people had never even known Endo, while others were skeptical about the Japanese star's ability. They suspect that the midfielder born in 1993 will have the same fate as his compatriot Takumi Minamino at Anfield.
This is all the more reasonable, as Endo was seen as a "fire-fighting" signing after a failed transfer window by Liverpool. Wataru Endo has only been targeted by the Anfield team after being exploited by Chelsea twice in the recruitment deal of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
doubts about Wataru Endo have gradually increased as the Japanese international has had an unimpressive debut. In round 2 of the Premier League, the midfielder born in 1993 came off the bench in the 62nd minute, in a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth. In the match against Newcastle United in round 3, Endo started but had to give way to Harvey Elliott in the 58th minute, after Virgil van Dijk received a red card.
In both matches, the Japanese player has not left a really clear mark, receiving 6.5 and 6.6 points (lower than the national team average) from the Sofascore website. Wataru Endo is said to have been overwhelmed by the speed and intensity of his football in England.
More than four months later, in the first game of 2024 against Newcastle, Endo started from the start. In contrast to his lackluster performance in August, the 30-year-old striker plays confidently, calmly and dominates Liverpool's midfield.
Despite only playing 75 minutes against the "Magpies", Endo still successfully completed 63/69 passes, reaching a rate of 91.3%, the most on Liverpool's side. The Japanese midfielder also had 37 passes in the opponent's half, reaching a rate of 91.9%.
Endo has successfully intercepted 3 times, only behind Trent Alexander-Arnold (4 times). This impressive performance helped The Kop win 4-2 against Newcastle, with an expected goals (xG) of up to 7.29, a record in a Premier League match since the 2010-11 season.
After difficulties at the beginning of the season, Endo has gradually integrated into his new life in the red half of Merseyside. Endo's strongest mark was the equalizer 3-3 against Fulham, just 3 minutes after he came on as a substitute. Receiving the ball from Salah's comeback, the midfielder born in 1993 accurately curled from outside the penalty area into the dark corner of goalkeeper Bernd Leno's goal.
The impressive performance helped Endo continue to start 5 matches in 13 days, becoming the first midfield player to do this for the club since 1.2006. Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Burnley on December 27 was an affirmation of Endo's ability. After more than 90 minutes of play, Klopp replaced both central midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott. Wataru Endo was the only midfielder to play the whole match.
That performance received special praise from Jurgen Klopp himself:
Endo had a great match. He is another candidate for the "Best Player" award. It would be difficult for Liverpool to play without Endo in this match. It is a pity that he has just re-established and is absent to participate in the Asian Cup.
Klopp's comments were the most valuable comments about Endo's performance. In his first season playing in England, it was not easy for a 1.78 m tall Asian player to play as a central midfielder. However, Endo proved the opposite.
In the Premier League this season, there has been no Liverpool midfielder who has fought better than Endo, with 1.9 successful air strikes/90 minutes. Only eight midfielders in the Premier League, playing at least 500 minutes, have more air disputes per 90 minutes than the Japanese star. Not only that, before moving to Liverpool, Endo was also the midfielder with the most successful aerial battles in the Bundesliga, with 2.2 times/90 minutes.
Since the beginning of the season, Liverpool have not suffered a defeat in the Premier League if the midfielder born in 1993 started from the start. The Reds have conceded just three goals for Endo in the starting line-up. The Kop also won 6/8 matches (reaching a rate of 75%) and conceded 5 goals (0.6 goals/match) every time Endo started.
In contrast, when Endo was not in the starting lineup, The Kop won only 7/12 matches (58.3%) and conceded 13 goals (1.1 goals/match). In addition, in Premier League matches that the Japanese midfielder participated in, Liverpool also won 11/15 stamp matches (reaching a rate of 73.3%), scoring 34 goals (2.3 goals/match). In the 5 matches that Endo did not play, Liverpool only won 2 (40%) and only scored 9 goals (1.8 goals/match).
After all, Liverpool's December Best Player award is a worthy recognition for Wataru Endo. The Japanese international has proven his worth, not only when Mac Allister was injured, but also as a worthy replacement for Fabinho's defensive midfield position.
The next 5 weeks will be the most intense period in the Premier League, which will also be the time Endo is absent from Liverpool to compete in the 2023 Asian Cup. This is a big challenge that Jurgen Klopp needs to face and find a solution for if he wants to bring Liverpool to the Premier League this year.
