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.

The Kop has been actively pursuing players like Khephren Thuram, Romeo Lavia, or Moises Caicedo since the summer transfer market opened. But later, for a variety of reasons, these objectives progressively became unattainable. A relationship between the Anfield team and Sofyan Amrabat of Fiorentina never materialized.

And it came as a shock when Liverpool chose Wataru Endo, the midfield captain of VfB Stuttgart. The Kop has agreed to pay approximately 16 million pounds to sign the Japanese national player, claims a source for the journalist Fabrizio Romano.

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.

Wataru Endo will formally become a Liverpool man if nothing unexpected occurs. In the past, Takumi Minamino, a striker who joined from RB Salzburg for £7.25 million in January 2020, was the first Japanese player to sign a contract at Anfield.

Minamino, however, fell short of expectations. It was first lent to Southampton by the Merseyside team, who then sold it to Monaco.