According to news from journalist Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have just reached an agreement to sign Japanese national player Wataru Endo from VfB Stuttgart, for about £ 16 million.

This is definitely not a blockbuster deal and surprised the fans. After selling Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, Liverpool also brought in expensive midfielders like Alexis Mac Allister or Dominik Szoboszlai. However, coach Jurgen Klopp still desires to increase personnel in the midfield.

From the beginning of the summer transfer window, The Kop has been planning to closely pursue names like Khephren Thuram, Romeo Lavia, or Moises Caicedo. But then, for various reasons, these goals gradually grew out of reach. The Anfield team started flirting with Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, but everything also came to a dead end.

And it was a surprise when Liverpool turned to Wataru Endo, VfB Stuttgart’s captain midfielder. According to a source from journalist Fabrizio Romano, The Kop has reached an agreement to recruit the Japanese national player for about 16 million pounds.

Wataru Endo has been with VfB Stuttgart for 5 seasons, gradually becoming the most important player of Die Roten. In the last 2 seasons in the Bundesliga, Stuttgart constantly struggled with the relegation battle.

Endo has made great contributions to help the home team stay on the highest level of German football. In particular, in the 2021/22 season, the player born in 1993 scored the goal of a lifetime against Cologne in the last round to help Stuttgart escape spectacularly.

Wataru helps Stuttgart stay relegated against Cologne in the 2021/2022 season

In the last 2022/23 season, Wataru Endo played in all 39 matches in all competitions. In the Bundesliga alone, this player played 33 matches with a total of 2,925 minutes, scored 5 goals and had 4 assists.

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In every 90 minutes, Wataru Endo takes 1.4 shots, touches the ball 60.9 times, passes accuracy is 80%, gets 1.4 key passes, has 0.8 dribbles, 2.1 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 0.6 ball recovery times, 1.8 rescues, 4.6 hand-to-hand combat wins and 2.3 successful air battles.

Endo often plays as a central midfielder in a 3-4-3, 3-5-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation, or plays a defensive midfielder in a 4-1-4-1 formation. The strength of the Japanese player is the ability to defend quite comprehensively, pass the ball well, and tackle the ball effectively. He also proved to be beneficial in long-range situations or fixed free kicks.

Endo’s shortcoming lies in the low quality of his crosses and his ability to defend the area. This player is also sometimes confused when encountering opponents who deploy intense and continuous pressing.

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In short, Wataru Endo is not Jurgen Klopp’s top target. However, as analyzed, the ability of the Japanese player is not bad. In addition, Endo is highly appreciated for his perseverance and brave fighting spirit of a “Samurai warrior”. But to find a place at Anfield, surely the 30-year-old midfielder must go through a difficult journey.

If nothing happens at the last minute, Wataru Endo will officially become a Liverpool man. In the past, the first Japanese player to arrive at Anfield was striker Takumi Minamino, who moved from RB Salzburg for £7.25 million in January 2020.

However, Minamino did not live up to expectations. The Merseyside team loaned it to Southampton and then sold it to Monaco.