On Sunday night, it emerged that Liverpool had rejected an offer worth €14m (£11.8m) from Marseille for Wataru Endo.
The news was broken by James Pearce of The Athletic, who specified three primary reasons which contributed towards the Reds rebuffing the bid from the Ligue 1 side.
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The timing of the offer, a lack of market opportunities in terms of signing a replacement, and the current needs of the squad with which Arne Slot is working were all significant factors in the decision from Anfield chiefs.
It’s unclear for now whether or not Marseille will try their luck once more, with Endo also attracting interest from several Bundesliga teams.
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Despite Endo having an unconvincing game against Real Betis on Friday night, Liverpool would be foolish to let him leave without having an alternative defensive midfielder through the door first, unless a club were to make a truly irresistible offer.
Even with the 31-year-old at Anfield, and the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajcetic all capable of operating at number 6, that position is understood to be a priority for Richard Hughes in the current transfer window.
Having been an opportunistic £16m signing from Stuttgart last August after the failed pursuits of Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, the Reds might’ve accepted Marseille’s bid had they already secured a holding midfielder this summer.
In the circumstances, Liverpool were right to reject the offer for a player who proved to be an experienced steady hand in the Reds’ engine room for much of last season, and who could be a very important asset to call upon as another hectic campaign rapidly approaches.
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