Amid speculation over his future at Liverpool, Wataru Endo seems determined to prove that he can still make a vital contribution at Anfield.
The Reds recently turned down an offer of £11.8m from Marseille for the Japanese midfielder (The Athletic), but with the pursuit of fellow number 6 Martin Zubimendi continuing apace, there have been murmurings that the 31-year-old could be offloaded after only one year in L4.
The ex-Stuttgart enforcer wasn’t wholly convincing in pre-season, particularly against Real Betis in Pittsburgh, but he produced one standout moment when facing another LaLiga side in Las Palmas on Sunday.
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It was Endo forcing a turnover with a perfectly timed challenge 30 yards from goal which initiated a chance for Darwin Nunez in the second half, only for the Uruguayan’s tame shot to be easily repelled by Jasper Cillessen.
That was one of two tackles that the 31-year-old won yesterday, in addition to winning four duels, playing two key passes, landing one shot on target and completing 62 of his 66 passes (94% success) as he gave a vastly improved performance (Sofascore).
A strong display from Ryan Gravenberch against Sevilla could make it hard for the Japan captain to win a starting berth against Ipswich on Saturday, even if Zubimendi doesn’t sign before then, but our current number 3 showed that he can still contribute greatly to LFC over the coming season.
You can view Endo’s challenge v Las Palmas below, taken from LFCTV’s match coverage and shared via @anfieldsociaI2 on X:
— @AnfieldSociaI (@anfieldsociaI2) August 11, 2024