Jurgen Klopp has revealed what has been holding Wataru Endo back since his arrival at Liverpool last month.
The Japan international came on as a substitute late in the Reds’ 3-1 win over West Ham, his first outing since joining Liverpool from VfB Stuttgart last month.
Despite beginning Liverpool’s triumph over LASK Linz on Thursday, the 30-year-old has had a difficult start to life at Anfield.
Despite his little influence thus far, Klopp insists that Endo is improving and will play a significant role for the Reds in the coming season.
“He (Endo) was also very good!” “He needs to adjust to life here,” the German told reporters. “A fantastic guy, very calm and polite, and that may have cost him the first two weeks.”
“He’s getting there now. He is not unclean, attempting to get people out of the way in order to join the team. He’s getting better every day, as we saw today.
“He is present. He will be of great assistance to us and will entertain us. He will begin games. Everything is fine.
“In a very short period of time, he had three or four games for us.” He is not a one-time project. He’s a vital member of the squad, and I’m thrilled to have him.”