Jürgen Klopp has said Wataru Endo represents a departure from the transfer profile preferred by Liverpool’s owners but was on his wish-list to replace Fabinho from the start. The Japan captain joined Liverpool on a four-year contract from Stuttgart on Friday for about €19m (£16.2m).
He was registered with the Premier League in time to make his debut against Bournemouth on Saturday but is still awaiting international clearance.
Endo’s arrival comes at the end of a week when Liverpool were gazumped by Chelsea for the signings of the 21-year-old Moisés Caicedo and 19-year-old Roméo Lavia. Aged 30, the defensive midfielder is the oldest player that Liverpool have paid a transfer fee for in seven years.
The owner, Fenway Sports Group, prefers a younger profile but, with Klopp convinced the “late bloomer” will flourish at Anfield, backed the manager’s call.
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Klopp said: “You know it is not traditionally like that [signing a player of Endo’s age]. The last player in that age group was James Milner. [It was a 30-year-old Ragnar Klavan in 2016.] It is always a discussion we have. The owners really want 200 games at 20 years old. That is pretty difficult.
“I didn’t need any kind of convincing. I know that the best time for a football player is from 27 to 33 in a normal career. It depends on injuries, of course. That is why I did not need to change anything and he was on my list from the beginning.”
Klopp, who has lost several experienced midfielders this summer, added: “It is a transfer that is not in the public eye. It’s not ‘Oh my God!’ and probably nobody at this moment is writing a new song about him. But wait. He has something that Liverpool supporters will love, definitely. He is already used to red a little bit, so that’s good, and when he puts that shirt on he will throw everything on the pitch and the people will love that.”
Liverpool remain in the market for signings, with central defensive cover among the positions under consideration. The club bid £111m for Caicedo last week and spent about £16m on Endo but Klopp insists it is too simplistic to say Liverpool have £95m remaining for signings.
“There is nothing to speak about what more we will do,” said the Liverpool manager. “It does not, from my experience, mean that you take the fee paid from the money not spent and the gap between that is the money available. I don’t think that is the case and it is not a problem. When there are the right players we will have a look. We are definitely still in the market watching and seeing what is going on and what we can do. We try to strengthen the squad, definitely.”
