In the throes of Arne Slot’s first pre-season at Liverpool, a failed £11.8 million bid for Wataru Endo left this writer to ponder whether it made business sense for the club to part ways with their No. 3.
By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
Oh, how I was wrong.
Wataru Endo‘s minutes in pre-season had been steady but, with Liverpool pushing to sign a new No. 6 and Ryan Gravenberch swiftly installed to the first-choice XI upon his return from a post-Euros break, he was clearly out of favour.
So when an offer from Marseille arrived at the end of July – duly rejected but with sources on Merseyside indicating that, with a number of clubs from Germany also interested, an exit would be granted – it seemed realistic that he would move on.
Around 900 words were penned for This Is Anfield arguing that, as the third-oldest player in the squad with the seventh-longest contract, those within Liverpool’s hierarchy would view a quick sale as favourable – even at a slight loss.
The sense that his £16 million signing from Stuttgart, pushed through after failed bids for Moisés Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, was nothing more than a stopgap was magnified by change in the dugout.
But no transfer materialised, that £11.8 million offer from the south of France representing the extent of any concrete approaches for the Japan captain.
Even then, though, it was communicated that he would struggle for game time, with the subsequent rise of Gravenberch operating as a No. 6 to world-class standards suggesting that, as a more traditional defensive midfielder, Endo was an ill fit.
Arne Slot‘s use of Endo in the first two-and-a-half months of the campaign – just two starts, both in the Carabao Cup, and four more substitute appearances totalling four minutes off the bench – indicated that the head coach felt the same way.
Given how Liverpool’s system feeds off the progressive, line-breaking ability of Gravenberch in the deep-lying role, there seemed little place for the 32-year-old beyond a role as experienced rotation for the cups.
There had been few alterations in general between games as Slot oversaw a comfortable routine in those first months of the season, but the lack of chances will have been jarring for a player who was among the 10 most-used players in Jürgen Klopp’s final campaign – even with a pause for the Asia Cup with Japan.
But things began to change around the end of October, including a whopping 13 minutes after replacing Darwin Núñez in a 2-1 victory over Brighton – Endo’s longest cameo to date in the Premier League at that time.
A regular in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, there now appears a greater appreciation for what Endo can offer whether as a substitute or a starter, particularly as the Reds look to hold onto slender leads.
That was no more apparent than in the 2-1 victory over Wolves at Anfield, where he came on for Luis Díaz and shut down an increasing threat for the visitors as Slot tasked him with a man-marking job on Matheus Cunha.
“[He told me] I have to go everywhere, cover all over the pitch,” the midfielder told LFCTV after the game.
In 19 minutes of normal time Endo contested five duels, winning three of them, forcing two fouls from Wolves players while committing two himself.
Following Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa, the veteran has featured in 15 of Liverpool’s 27 games since the start of November, with Núñez the only player used more off the bench in the campaign as a whole.
Though his on-ball remit was limited to only nine touches he completed all five of his attempted passes, two of which were into the final third.
It was a performance that summed up exactly what he offers to Liverpool in this reduced role: sharp and aggressive, while offering the dynamism that perhaps Slot did not see in him during those early months of his reign.
Endo may not be the same type of No. 6 as Gravenberch – nor is he similar to primary summer target Martin Zubimendi – but the suggestion that he simply does not fit into Slot’s system is erroneous.
Klopp’s praise following a goalscoring display in a 5-1 victory over Toulouse highlighted that Endo can offer more than is perhaps expected of him.
“The forward passes he played tonight were absolutely incredible,” Klopp said at the time. “And how often he broke lines with one touch, that was absolutely insane.”
In fact there is a growing feeling that Slot should be employing his talents more prominently, especially as signs of wear start to show on Gravenberch in the engine room.
Gravenberch is on course to enjoy his busiest season yet as a senior professional and the decision to substitute him after just an hour against Everton confirmed that even he is susceptible to tiring.
Yet in a game played out in the frenzied atmosphere of Goodison Park’s final derby, Slot saw fit to leave Endo unused, with Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones his nominal No. 6s and Diogo Jota replacing Díaz in the final throes at 2-1 up.
The events that unfolded in additional time, as James Tarkowski volleyed in the most unexpected of equalisers, were certainly avoidable and there is strong a case to argue that another defender on the pitch would have helped.
Similar occurred in Liverpool’s draw at Villa Park, with an ailing trio of Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai – along with the more advanced Curtis Jones – toiling to maintain the intensity while a seasoned midfielder sat dormant.
It remains a fact that Slot is yet to start Endo in a Premier League fixture, while his only start in eight Champions League games came as part of a heavily rotated side in the dead rubber at PSV Eindhoven.
And that could prompt the question of whether he fully trusts his abilities even at this stage, after months of convincing cameos and steadfast displays starting in the cups – even as a centre-back on a number of occasions.
Just as this writer was wrong to doubt Endo’s influence when measured against the value of an eight-figure bid, it is still worth asking whether Slot is wrong not to give him more of a spotlight in higher-profile games.
After all, everything thrown at Liverpool’s No. 3 so far he has dealt with to the highest standard.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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