Wataru Endo, and the Art of the Versatile Defensive Midfielder

Another day, another transfer story, and this time, it's virtually deal done

“I’ve Never Heard of Him” – Too many people

I don't like false equivalencies. In 2007, when I was doing my weekly column on the official Liverpool FC website, someone emailed me, irate that the Reds were going to waste money on another Fernando.

FFS, hadn't we learnt from Morientes? Torres was going to fail.

So yeah, Wataru Endo is not Arthur Melo.

The lateness in the transfer window should not see this excellent player lumped in with some late hell-Marys.

Aged 30, and relatively cheap, Endo is presumably why the Reds were looking for value in Germany with Jörg Schmadtke.

While I noted the other day that Liverpool actually tend to shop mostly in the mid-range on prices, a Japanese James Milner (but with a bit more skill and zip) is rarely a bad idea. Another midfielder and a defender are surely being sought, and could easily cost over £100m combined. This is a no-brainer.

I’ve also been saying that getting someone older for the midfield is not a problem; far from it. Liverpool’s midfield exodus took away some vital experience, and also an average age of nearly 32.

Thiago, who should see out his final year, is also 32, and you are guaranteed quality, but not availability.

Beyond that, it’s one 24-year-old and everyone else is 22 or under. Stefan Bajcetic will be the future, but this season will be one of strict minute-management after injuries.

Endo seems like no normal 30-year-old, missing a maximum of one league game per season in the past three years whilst captaining Stuttgart and Japan. He’s also played 25 internationals since 2021.

His stats for the past year remain excellent, so this is no Arthur Melo or Ben Davies, arriving either undercooked and injury-prone, or from the second tier. It's too easy to look at the timing of the deals and make that false equivalency.

I don’t think this reeks of desperation, whereas Melo arrived on deadline day with no preseason, and a history of injury concerns; with his best football played way back in 2019. He tried his best, but his body was failing him.

Endo, by contrast, is still at the very peak of his powers. He’s not part of some trolley-dash.

Via Squawka, Wataru Endó vs Bundesliga midfielders since the start of the 2020/21 season:

• ◉ Most possession won in defensive ⅓ (254)

• ◉ Most aerial duels won (219)

• ◉ Most clearances (175)

• ◉ Most headed clearances (105)

• ◎ Second-most touches (6511)

• ◎ Second-most passes completed (3940)

• ◎ Second-most possession won middle final ⅓ (404)

• ◎ Second-most tackles (208)

Endo is clearly a fitness freak, and not melting as some might be. To rank 7th on ground covered in the Bundesliga aged 30 shows he still has a great engine. Again, this is a player who simply never misses games.

Versatile, he can defend, but also create and score. There's a slight İlkay Gündoğan vibe about him, from what I've seen in the videos and data.

I also liked this assessment on Twitter X

"One of the Bundesliga’s most unsung stars. A absolute running monster, an engine like few others. Rarely wastes a pass, a natural leader and a scorer of important goals. Excelled in a very moderate Stuttgart team. He’ll be a terrific asset to Liverpool."

Dan O'Hagan, Commentator, Bundesliga and beyond.

The second half of this is for paying subscribers only. Some more positives to lay out – some quite big ones – and a couple of potential drawbacks, but at under £20m, it seems a bargain.