Liverpool have confirmed that they have completed the signing of Japanese international Wataru Endo from Bundesliga club Stuttgart.
The fee, believed to be 19 million euros (£16.2 million) takes Liverpool’s spending past the £100 million mark this summer after the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The 30 year-old defensive midfielder has 50 caps for the Japanese national side and played for them as they reached the knockout stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year.
He began his career playing for Shonan Bellmare before moving to fellow J League side Urawa Red Diamonds and then on to Europe with Belgian team Sint-Truiden before, as mentioned, joining Stuttgart in the summer of 2019 on an initial loan deal before joining permanently in 2020. He played 33 games for ‘Die Roten’ in the Bundesliga last season, scoring five times.
Endo has also played as a centre-back at times so provides depth for The Reds in a couple of different positions, which is something that will appeal to Jurgen Klopp.
His move follows a week on from Liverpool agreeing deals for both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia but both players opting to join Chelsea for combined fees of over £150 million.
With the departures of Naby Keita, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho this summer, it is anticipated that Liverpool will continue to plot a move for another midfielder. They have been strongly linked with Fluminense’s Andre, Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure and Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid.
Endo will wear the number three shirt at Anfield and has, surprisingly for his age, signed a four-year deal until the summer of 2027. He has expressed his pleasure at joining the club:
“It feels amazing. It’s always been a dream to play in the Premier League and one of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s a dream come true for me.”