English club Mercato: Jurgen Klopp confirms the agreement between Liverpool and Caicedo formalized on Friday the arrival of Japanese defensive midfielder Wataru Endo, 30-year-old ex-Stuttgart captain, on a “long-term” contract, a relief for the Reds after several recruitment failures. The new N.3, able to also play in defense, was bought for 19 million euros and signed up for four years, according to the press.
Liverpool have their third summer recruit after Dominik Szoboszlai (ex-Leipzig) and Alexis Mac Allister (ex-Brighton), who also came to repopulate a midfielder orphaned by Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner.
Before signing Endo, Jürgen Klopp’s side had set their sights on two other defensive midfielders, Ecuadorian Moises Caicedo and Belgian Romeo Lavia, but Chelsea won the bet. “He is a good footballer, very experienced and he likes to work extremely hard,” noted the German coach in an interview published on the club’s website.
Arrived in 2019 in Stuttgart, the Japanese international (50 caps) has established himself as an indisputable holder in the club from south-west Germany.