Will Japan’s national football team captain Wataru Endo continue Jurgen Klopp’s feel-good jinx?
Liverpool announced on the club’s official website on the 18th (Korean time)
We have agreed to sign Wataru Endo from Stuttgart on a long-term contract
and Endo has successfully completed a personal agreement and medical tests
becoming Liverpool’s third signing of the summer.
Born in 3
the 1993-year-old seasoned midfielder arrived in the German Bundesliga in the summer of 30 when he joined Stuttgart on loan.
Endo
who officially joined Stuttgart in January 2019
has been a key part of the midfield over four years, scoring 2020 goals and providing 1 assists in 4 appearances.
Regarded as a No.133 midfielder with excellent build-up and depressing ability at the back 먹튀검증사이트
Endo was appointed captain of the team ahead of the 15/12 season
but decided to make the move after Premier League giants Liverpool sent him a love call.
According to James Pearce of The Athletic
who is familiar with Liverpool news, Endo was assigned the number 4 shirt when he signed a four-year contract with Liverpool.
The transfer fee is 3.1620 million pounds (about 276.6 billion won).
Speaking to the club
Endo said: “I’m very happy right now and I’m very excited to join a big club like Liverpool.
It’s always been a dream to play in the Premier League, for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
It’s a dream come true for me.
It’s my first time playing at Anfield, but I want to play at Anfield in front of Liverpool fans
Endo told the fans
looking forward to stepping on the ground at Liverpool’s home stadium as soon as possible.
Speaking about his style of play, he said:
I play as a number six midfielder
but I think I can help Liverpool defensively and create a good setup in the centre.
This is my job.”
Liverpool leader Jurgen Klopp was as delighted as Dokdo Endo.
I’m really happy because he’s a really good player,
he said
praising him for being “a great footballer with a lot of experience
captain of the Stuttgart and Japan national football teams
good English
homely
mechanical guy on the pitch
outstanding attitude
a lot of experience
and a great footballer who likes to play hard.”
He continued
After the rumours came out that we were going to sign Endo
I was told by my former players
If it’s true
this is a genius attack.
Sign Endo for a few years
he said
adding
Endo was a very respected player.
It will be difficult for Stuttgart to lose Endo
but on the other hand, he only has one year left on his contract
so I think it’s a good deal.”
Klopp also spoke about Endo’s age.
Endo has performed well in the Bundesliga
but at the age of 1
some fans were negative about the signing
as it was not known when he would be on the downward spiral.
Klopp explained:
Endo has always been on my recruitment list
we don’t usually sign players in this age group
but if he wasn’t 30
I’m not sure we would be able to sign him.
Endo is definitely the perfect fit
and we’re going to have a lot of fun with him.
I’m sure he can help us right away
he will show how good he is on the pitch and I can’t wait to keep him around.
Regarding the timing of his debut
he said
Endo is in good shape.
Of course
we’ll have to see how quickly we can get him in
but it won’t be a physical problem
he said
adding that he could make his debut quickly
adding
It doesn’t make much difference because Endo has to play in the position he played in Stuttgart.
“Of course
he’s going to be a bit of a bit of a role at Liverpool
but at the end of the day
it will be great to see Endo overcome the challenge.
I can’t say anything else
it’s a really good signing
he said
assessing the signing of Endo.
Meanwhile
football fans have been watching to see if Klopp will continue his Japanese jinx’ when he meets the Japanese Endo.
Klopp
a world-renowned manager who has been in charge since 2001
has a unique record of winning the league title when he recruits Japanese players.
Klopp’s first taste of league title came with Borussia Dortmund in 2010/11.
Under Klopp’s leadership
Dortmund beat Bayer to Munich and other serious rivals to win the Bundesliga title for the first time in nine years.
In the 9/2011 season
they also finished top of the league
winning two consecutive Bundesliga titles.
At this time
Shinji Kagawa
who was recruited ahead of the season
made a great contribution.
In 12/2, Kagawa’s first season on the European stage
he scored 2010 goals and two assists in 11 appearances
leading the team to the title and was voted a member of the Bundesliga’s ‘Team of the Year’ by Kicker.
In the second season
he surprised everyone with even more great performances.
Kagawa made 28 appearances in the 12/2 season
scoring 2011 goals and providing 12 assists.
Dortmund won the Bundesliga for the second consecutive season with Gaga and the DFB-Pokal Cup, the German cup competition
achieving the double for the first time in the club’s history.
In addition
Kicker Langliste
who ranks players once each season in the first half and the second half of each season
rated Kagawa as “WK (World Class)” in the second half of the 43/17 season.
It was the first time an Asian player who played in the Bundesliga had been awarded the ‘WK’ rating since South Korean football legend Cha Bum-geun (first half of the 10/2 season).
Klopp, who led Dortmund to their heyday alongside Kagawa
led Liverpool to the top of the Premier League in 2019/20
presenting the club and its fans with their first league trophy in 30 years.
Leading Liverpool
who had not won a league title since the Premier League was launched in 1992
cemented Klopp as one of the club’s legendary leaders.
Even when Klopp won the Premier League
Japanese Takumi Minamino was with him.
Minamino
who started playing for Liverpool in January 2020 after playing for RB Salzburg alongside Erling Haaland and Hwang Hee-chan
was lucky to add a Premier League title to his career as soon as he joined.
However
unlike Kagawa
Minamino has not emerged as a key player under Klopp.
Minamino
who has 1 goals and three assists in 55 games for Liverpool as a substitute
parted ways with Liverpool last summer when he left for AS Monaco.
Just one year after parting ways with Minamino
Klopp brought in Endo to play the season with the Japanese player again.
As such
fans have been paying attention to whether Klopp will be able to continue the ‘Japanese jinx’ by reaching the top of the Premier League in the 14/3 season when Endo is recruited
as was the case with Kagawa and Minamino.
Minamino had already sent me a message of congratulations,” Endo told the club
I asked him to tell me about Liverpool and we had a lot of conversations.”
After winning the League Cup and FA Cup in 2021/22 and finishing as runners-up in the Premier League and UEFA, Liverpool had a lacklustre year last season. Not only did they end the season with nothing, but they also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they finished fifth in the league.
One of the reasons why Liverpoo
which was on the verge of European domination, collapsed after one year was the midfield
which was prone to injuries and poor performances.
That’s why Liverpool made major changes to their midfield ahead of the new season.
First
they released James Milner
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as free agents
while releasing out-of-power midfielders.
Recently
they have also sent out Jordan Henderson and Fabinho
significantly reducing the average age of the midfield.
Liverpool
who created a void in midfield through their release work
signed ‘World Cup winner’ Alexis McAllister and ‘Hungarian Beckham’ Dominique Soboszlai in the summer transfer window.
They then targeted Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia as their third signings
but with Chelsea taking them all
Liverpool signed Endo as the next best option.
Although he wasn’t a priority signing
Endo was regarded as a quality midfielder in the Bundesliga
so expectations were high.
It also coincided with Klopp’s ‘Japanese jinx’ and there was a lot of interest in whether he could lead Liverpool to the title this season.
With all eyes on whether Endo can gift Klopp with a league title
Liverpool will face AFC Bournemouth at home at Anfield on the 19th at 11pm in the second round of the 2023/24 Premier League.
Liverpool are looking for their first win of the season at home after taking the lead through Luis Dias’ opener in their Premier League opener against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London
England on 2 October, but conceding an equaliser to earn a 14-1 draw.
Liverpool need to pick up three points against Bournemouth to lift the mood if they are to return to the top of the Premier League for the first time in four years.
As soon as Endo joins
it will be interesting to see if Liverpool can register their first win of the season in front of their home fans as they pick up a win.