Wataru Endo has admitted that he was ‘surprised’ when he first heard that Liverpool wanted to sign him during the summer.
The £50,000-per-week midfielder (Capology) came to Anfield from Stuttgart in a £16m move in August (BBC Sport), becoming the third of the Reds’ four recruits in the most recent transfer window.
The 30-year-old has spoken to Sky Sports (via The Mirror) about how the approach from Merseyside caught him off guard, even if it had been his intention to leave his previous club.
Endo said: “I thought I still had the chance to talk to a team. I’m not young but all of the top teams can sign youngsters in the first position but if they didn’t get the chance to sign the young players maybe they want experienced players.
“That’s what I was thinking in the summer, and that actually happened. I was a bit surprised. I really wanted to move but it was the end of August and I was like, maybe I don’t get the chance. I was a bit surprised.”
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Unlike the moves for Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, which were the culmination of long-running transfer speculation, Liverpool’s purchase of Endo was completed rather quickly in mid-August.
The double curveball of the exits of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia had necessitated the addition of an experienced defensive midfielder, hence the decision to bring in the Japan captain.
He’s only been given one Premier League start so far (WhoScored) and will likely be among the substitutes for much of the top-flight campaign, but every club needs a strong squad beyond the first XI nowadays, and the 30-year-old could be a hugely valuable presence to call upon.
Indeed, Endo made the most of his starting appearance against Toulouse recently, scoring his first Liverpool goal and delivering an assured performance which highlighted why Jurgen Klopp had wanted to get him in at Anfield.
Even if his move to Merseyside had a serendipitous feel to it, such transfers can historically be looked back upon as huge successes. After all, who’d have expected the impact that Gary McAllister made when he came to the club at 35?