Wataru Endo, from VfB Stuttgart, is set to become Liverpool’s third arrival of the summer as the club tries to move on from the Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia saga.
The 30-year-old Japanese international was entering the final 12 months of his contract, but Liverpool’s interest this week appeared from left field as their attempts to address their defensive midfield hole continue.
Endo is a very unknown name in English football, and since the impending agreement was made public, fans have been wondering, “Wat Ar U, Endo?”
Liverpool’s quest for a No. 6 was accelerated last month when Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad made a £40 million bid for Fabinho. As the club’s sole recognized defensive midfield expert, adding another player in that position became non-negotiable.
The midfielder is not one of the fascinating young possibilities Liverpool has been connected with all summer, including Lavia, Caicedo, Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich, and Khephren Thuram of Nice. Endo is at the other end of the spectrum: a seasoned professional.
Liverpool reassessed their profile after missing out on Caicedo and Lavia. The average age of the midfield has dropped dramatically, with only Thiago (32) over the age of 24. Endo’s experience is considered as a valuable asset following the departures of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, and James Milner.
It is unusual for Liverpool to spend a sum of about €19 million (£16 million, $20.7 million) for a 30-year-old. Thiago, 29, joined from Bayern Munich in 2020 and is the only player over the age of 26 for whom they have paid a price (£25 million) since Ragnar Klavan’s £4.2 million signing from Augsburg in 2016.
The Liverpool club may have lost its “lighthouse” and “Dyson” — two of Fabinho’s nicknames — but his replacement has plenty of his own: “soldier”, “warrior”, “heartbeat” and “bodyguard”.
Endo can play in central and defensive midfield and split his time between the two positions last season. He has previously filled in at center-back, but only on a few occasions, thus he is unlikely to be a backup option unless absolutely essential. He’s best classified as a defensive No. 8.
Loved by those at the club he is departing, Endo is known as an incredibly dedicated professional. After long trips on international duty, he arrives back at the training ground and heads straight for the gym.
Availability and reliability have been key characteristics in Liverpool’s summer recruitment. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai both have good fitness records and Endo does too. In the past three seasons, he has missed only three games, playing 99 out of a possible 102 (the reasons for his absences: suspension, Covid-19 and concussion.) He looks after himself and his body so is a reliable presence.
He is invariably the one opposition players and coaches rave about after games against Stuttgart. While sad to see him depart, the German side have long accepted he was a level above them and had braced themselves for an approach from a bigger club. It has been Endo’s dream to play in the Premier League.
“As a player and as a person, he’s simply incredibly valuable,” former Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat remarked in 2021.
“He’s one of our system’s anchors, a focal point.” It’s wonderful that he’s there and performs, whether he’s a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.”
Mislintat signed the Japanese midfielder to Stuttgart on loan from Sint-Truidense in Belgium in 2019. He had joined the Belgians a year before after beginning his career with Shonan Bellmare and Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan’s J1 League.
Manager Tim Walter didn’t think he was good enough when he came in Germany. He played just one minute in the first 11 Bundesliga 2 games he was available for, but he dominated his debut start against Karlsruhe and has remained first choice ever since.
Mislintat was Klopp’s chief scout at Borussia Dortmund. They developed a solid friendship and continue to communicate on a regular basis. He is someone the German respects and values his viewpoint. Mislintat is likely to have suggested him and provided a glowing recommendation.
Interim director of football Jorg Schmadtke has excellent experience of the Bundesliga, so his input will have been crucial. He also has a tight relationship with Mislintat.
Following the departures of captain Jordan Henderson and vice-captain James Milner this summer, leadership has become a hot subject. Others needed to step up internally, but Endo arrives having captained Stuttgart and wearing the Japan armband.
He is a quiet leader who is shy and humble. He may not say much, but what he does say has a lot of weight. Endo speaks strong English and will provide authority and organization to a midfield that has to be reconnected in order to play at its best.
Endo was characterized as “an extraordinary human being” by one Stuttgart official. He is hardly prolific, but he can get the occasional screamer and has a knack for making the difference in big times.
After he scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute of Stuttgart’s final match of the 2021-22 season, saving them from a relegation play-off, he earned another moniker: “Legendo.”
The essential question is how much of Liverpool’s No. 6 problem Endo solves. We can obtain an idea of what to expect by using smarterscout.
The first chart includes Endo’s abilities while playing in several midfield positions, emphasizing his versatility.
There is not one stand-out attribute but the numbers suggest he is a well-rounded footballer who is comfortable in possession, an active defender and someone who provides an attacking presence both in building play for others and as a goal threat.
Primarily, Endo is being signed by Liverpool to play as the defensive midfielder. It is not a role he has played solely on his own often, more usually operating in a double pivot. In 2020-21, he formed an impressive partnership with Orel Mangala, now at Nottingham Forest. Endo patrolled the area in front of the defence and allowed Mangala to be more aggressive ahead of him.
In Liverpool’s 3-box-3 system, Endo will have Trent Alexander-Arnold alongside him when in possession and during transition. Klopp’s side revert to a 4-3-3 defensive shape when the opposition are building attacks. Endo would then operate in a single pivot and be required to cover a lot of ground.
Here is his pizza chart as a defensive midfielder.
It is not as well-rounded as the one above but it highlights that he is an extremely active defender (defending intensity; 91 out of 99).
He is tireless in his work, a player who has the tactical intelligence to read the game, spot danger, block passing lanes and cover large spaces.
Since the start of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season, Endo ranks first for possession won in the defensive third (254), most aerial duels won (219), most clearances (175) and most headed clearances (105). He ranks second for possession won in the middle third (404) and most tackles (208).
It should be noted that playing for Stuttgart, a bottom-half side in the Bundesliga, necessarily requires more defending. What the data shows is that he can do it.
In the deeper role, Endo regularly looks to progress the ball through passing (progressive passing; 69 out of 99) or carrying it forward (carry and dribble volume (58 out of 99) with dynamism and energy to build attacks from deep. Since the start of 2020-21, he ranks second in the Bundesliga for most touches (6,511) and passes completed (3,940).
Despite his withdrawn role, Endo still offers an attacking threat. His impressive xG from ball progression (81 out of 99) and xG from shot creation (86 out of 99) highlights his ability to get the ball into dangerous areas and create shooting opportunities.
Throughout the summer, links to myriad midfielders have made it unclear if Liverpool wanted a like-for-like Fabinho replacement or not.
Comparing Endo to Fabinho, it is striking how different they are across the smarterscout rankings. One man’s strengths are the other’s weaknesses.
While Endo is more progressive in possession, Fabinho is the opposite, taking fewer risks by playing shorter passes to teammates (link-up play volume; 91 out of 99). It’s not a surprise that the Brazilian retains the ball much better (ball retention ability; 88 out of 99), and it will be an area Endo (ball retention ability; 38 out of 99) will need to improve on. A Liverpool No 6 has to offer control and security in possession.
The Brazilian is not as active as Endo defensively but has a much stronger impact (defending impact; 79 out of 99). The 29-year-old is more effective at limiting ball progression and forcing turnovers as the assigned defender. He also ranks much higher at disrupting opposition moves (87 out of 99) which includes tackling, fouling, blocking and clearing, per minute out of possession.
The Japanese midfielder is 5ft 10in (178cm) so there are question marks around how he will cope with the physicality and speed of the Premier League. Even so, according to Fbref, he is in the 95th percentile for aerial duels won, averaging 2.33 per 90 minutes.
What happens next may influence how this transfer is ultimately judged. If Endo is the sole midfield acquisition before the window closes, the No. 6 dilemma will have a partial solution, but not the entire solution. A quick treatment with no long-term answer.
There must be queries about why he hasn’t been cherry-picked yet, but if Endo arrives and brings depth and nous to help close games out, there will be few groans from the stands. When he is joined by a young, high-potential player, the strategy becomes more logical.
Liverpool is still nearing the non-homegrown quota limit. With the acquisitions of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, they now have 16 out of 17 points. The departure of Fabinho freed up another slot, which Endo will occupy, meaning they still have another spot to fill.
The sale of Fabinho for £40 million — the same amount they spent for him — was smart business. On paper, swapping him for a somewhat older player for approximately half the money and no sell-on value is less appealing.
Only time will tell whether this was the correct decision. Endo could prove to be a wise signing, filling a void in Liverpool’s squad.
It’s impossible to say whether he’ll have enough of an impact to make Liverpool title challengers, but he at least provides a safety net if the club can’t get any other complementing objectives across the line.
