Liverpool sign Wataru Endo from Stuttgart on four-year deal

Sky Mobile sponsors the transfer window on Sky Sports News. OK, we've got some breaking news to bring you, which is just reaching us from Liverpool straight to their training ground. Vinnie O'Connor is live there for us. Vinnie, hello. What can you tell us? Yes, Liverpool have completed the signing of Watu and we expected it would come in the not too distant future. And now it has finally come as well. He did, of course, complete his medical yes there. Can confirm that he will take the number three shirt. So instantly a replacement comes in, if you like, for Fabinho. He signed a contract up until 2027, so a long-term deal as well. And he signed for a fee we believe to be in the region of £19 million. And of course, that long-term deal indicates the fact that he's been brought in here to play. He's highly rated. And as with the recent acquisitions of Dominic Subozlai, Alexis McAllister has been brought in with the intention of rejuvenating that Liverpool midfield. He can operate at right back, he can operate at centre-half as well, but he has been brought in to play that holding role in midfield, I suppose hence why he takes Fabinho's shirt as well. He's captained both Stuttgart, of course, he's captained the Japan national team, so he adds to Liverpool's current crop of national team captains, which includes the likes of Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Subozlai, Mohamed Salah as well. He's also got an outstanding availability record. I think that was another key element in the decision to bring him in, the fact that he's only missed a couple of games for Stuttgart in recent seasons, one due to COVID and the other due to concussion protocols as well. He's established himself as one of the top performers in the Bundesliga, which is why Liverpool wanted to bring him in as well. Both Jurgen Klopp and Jörg Schmatka rate him extremely highly because of his performances in the Bundesliga, and hence the decision to bring him in. Also, quotes from Jurgen Klopp today, he says... Very nice fella, family man, machine on the pitch, good footballer on top of that, sensational attitude, so I'm really happy. He's a good footballer, very experienced and loves to work extremely hard. And we will get our opportunity to speak to Jurgen Klopp around about half-past one today. Vinny, thank you. So, breaking news if you're just joining us, Liverpool confirming the signing of Wataru Endo, and he has signed a contract until 2027, we understand as well. So that's the breaking news. Fee, we understand, in the region of £19 million. Liverpool fans, they've got a signing, got the number three shirt, and Vinny outlined some of the key reasons why Liverpool have gone for him there. Yeah, have a look, have a look, says Jurgen Klopp, and Chelsea can't come in for this one. References, I guess, some of the discussion around a player who's 30 years of age, perhaps not a lot of people have seen, the price tag, he's kind of referencing that. Yeah, it's really interesting because this is typical of the way Liverpool do business. It's a player that you've perhaps not heard much about, and then right at the last minute, Liverpool haven't... Nothing's been spoken about the player. It's not been a long link that's been ongoing, and a name we've been talking about for ages, but Liverpool quietly behind the scenes have got the job done. And it's not a name, perhaps, like you just mentioned, Dave, that will perhaps excite loads of people, but I think it's a really, really solid option for Liverpool, and Liverpool fans should be delighted with this. If you look at some of the things he's very good at, that ball retention, the fact that he forms that solid base at the heart of midfield, coming in, taking Fabinho's number, wearing that number three, signals that he's going to come in and fill that defensive midfield spot, which is so vital to how Liverpool play. If you think about the system that Liverpool set up with both full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson pushing high up the flanks, that number six role is left to do so much work, cover so much ground, have to be relied upon as the last man standing in a tackle. And I think he has got a lot of the attributes to do just that. The attitude, Jurgen Klopp touched on there as well. The fact that he really comes across as a natural leader, brings up everyone around him, will improve the standards, a standard setter. In a transfer window where Liverpool have lost captain Jordan Henderson, vice-captain James Milner, bringing in a captain of his national side alongside the other national side captains that Liverpool have in their team, it feels very smart indeed. I'm quite surprised by the contract length. I think a lot of people maybe thought it would be a slightly shorter contract, considering he is 30 years old. It shows belief, doesn't it? It shows the fact that they think this is going to be not just a stopgap solution, but a player that can contribute to Liverpool's success over the next few years. And I like that. I like that it's a statement of intent. There will be question marks around perhaps bringing in a younger midfielder alongside him to supplement him. But in terms of looking at him, his attributes, his characteristics, his mentality, his attitude, I think Liverpool fans should be really happy with this one. And it's another one that's finally got over the line. So, Caicedo and La Viga, we can move on from those sagas now. Yeah, I mean, Jurgen Klopp says, have a look, have a look at him. We had a look at Liverpool on Sunday. It was almost like the derby of who needs a number six more, Chelsea or Liverpool on Sunday. That Liverpool midfield looked so attacking on paper. Absolutely. They're desperate for a player of this ilk like Endo. I mean, McAllister actually in that game, his stats were pretty good. That's not where he was brought into play, though. That's the issue, isn't it? Absolutely. Long term, that doesn't mean it's a solution. I mean, he managed to do half decent because of, you know, he's a very good player and very adaptable. But like you said, to get the best out of Alexis McAllister, you want him further up the pitch. And I think this is where Klopp's really in his sort of managerial bag now, because this is the rebuild that's been needed at Liverpool now, going off the back of a poor season last year, to really trust in Klopp now, to get away from that prime Liverpool that we've seen them win so much, which we spoke about earlier on in the show, to now rebrand and rebuild this Liverpool team. And I had the privilege of watching Endo a couple of times at the World Cup, actually, for Japan. And I didn't expect him to arrive at Liverpool sort of after that. But now I'm thinking back, I remember him being quite influential, really strong, all the things that Jurgen Klopp's talking about. You start to marry up with the characteristics that he wants. And actually, after losing out to Kaysedo and La Vida, yeah, you know, social media sort of goes wild and it's a bit embarrassing for Liverpool. But actually, now it's back to let's get some calm. We trust in Jurgen Klopp, trust in the characteristics that he knows about players. You spoke about the people who make the decisions at Liverpool, well in tune with what's going on in the Bundesliga. This isn't something they've just plucked out of thin air and don't know anything about. And I wouldn't be surprised now that with all the, you know, the pressure and all the plaudits going towards Moises Kaysedo and La Vida and that situation, I wouldn't be surprised to see Endo just sort of come in, slot him, less pressure and do really well. And that's the thing, for 90 million, that's low risk signing. Like when you look at the stats, it was obviously up there, but some of the other stats from over the last three seasons, he won the most aerial duels, had the most clearances, most headed clearances, won possession the most in the defensive third as well. He scored a few goals, assisted as well. And I think he created over 50 chances in the Bundesliga and missed only three to four games due to injury. That type of signing for Liverpool is going to be crucial for how they play. And like we said, we saw the way they played against Chelsea and the team looks very set. And that's why Liverpool fans got so excited about the Kaysedo signing, because it's like you just need that one signing to make everything work together. And it looks like he can be that player plus the experience and the leadership. So I think it's a very good signing for Liverpool. That availability is something Liverpool will really have looked at and identified as a key point, because last season, there were so many times where some of the key midfielders in Liverpool's team picked up injuries and found it difficult to find that consistency because they were in and out of the team with those injuries. I think another point to touch on is his age here, because a lot of last season, Liverpool fans spent talking about how the average age of that midfield was getting too high for Bini at 29, Milner and Henderson over the age of 30. And then this season, it's like it's a little bit inexperienced and a little bit young. So bringing someone who is a little bit older, who has got that experience at a high level playing football, it's going to be really interesting. The big question mark for Bini is how quickly will he be able to adapt to playing at high start in the Premier League, at the high pace style of football that Jürgen Klopp likes to play, the high pressing, intense style of football. But he looks like a player that likes to run a lot, likes to work really hard, looks up for the challenge. For him personally, what a move, what an incredible way to kind of go into the last five, six, seven, eight years of your career playing at a club like Liverpool. So a good move for all parties involved. And just to pick up on that point, I'm interested to see how he transitions from a team who've been struggling in a division, where his job's going to look very different to his job at Liverpool. Going from a struggling team to a team that's going to be fighting at the other end of the table, that job for him is going to look slightly different. And do they need more? Do you think this will be the end for Liverpool? I mean, Bini touched on it, that what he's hearing from the club is that they're alert. If something becomes available, they'll do it. So do you think they need to? Yeah, just on your point about relegation, interestingly, it shows he can really deal with that pressure. And a lot of Stuttgart fans will reference the goal that he scored to keep them up a couple of seasons ago. But on needing other options, I've touched on it earlier, but I do think a younger midfield now, someone who is more of a build for the future and looking ahead to maybe the next decade, like Alavia, like a Crusader, we know that these were names Liverpool were interested in. I do still think someone else in that holding role is vital. But then also looking now to the defensive line and someone that can be a cover, a backup option to both Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson. If Liverpool are sticking with this, playing more of a back three with Trent inverting into midfield, they need someone who can really cover in those positions because they're vital for Liverpool's new system, new formation heading forward. So those will also be other priority areas.