Liverpool’s Wataru Endo plan clearer with transfer move after ‘no clue what to do’ on debut
The Japanese international was thrown in at the deep end with the Reds down to 10 mennst 
nst Bournemouth, but he acquitted himself well against the Cherries
Wataru Endo’s head was spinning after he was thrown in at the deep end for his Liverpool debut against Bournemouth on Saturday, but the Japanese international is likely to have to get used to it.
Jurgen Klopp had told the 30-year-old to prepare to come on in the moments after Alexis Mac Allister’s controversial red card, but as he readied himself for his entrance Diogo Jota eased the tension around Anfield by pouncing to make it 3-1 when Neto had spilled Dominik Szoboszlai’s shot.
That made things somewhat easier for Endo as he came on for Cody Gakpo and took up a conventional defensive midfield role sitting next to Szoboszlai, but the Hungarian was enjoying himself far too much on his Anfield debut to think about doing much defending.
With Klopp’s blessing he kept up his all-action display, and Endo was charged with breaking up play and keeping things neat and tidy in the middle of the park. He did that rather well too, misplacing just two of his 17 passes and successfully making two clearances as well as a tackle and an interception.
Klopp’s assessment of his new recruit after the game included typical Klopp frankness, but it also showed the trust that he has in his left-field signing he is genuinely delighted to have on board.”Horrible [circumstances to make your debut in],” he said. “First game, coming in, I think we saw that Harvey [Elliott], who’s in a really good moment, came on in this game as well and was running left and right and the heart rate was 240.
“Pretty much the same for Endo. The two days he had – no surprise! He did absolutely alright, but he came there and had absolutely no clue what to do.
“I spoke this morning with him about how, with 11 players, his position would look. A 4-4-1 was not involved in our conversation. That’s it now. I don’t think he slept a lot in the last two nights, so he came on and threw everything he had onto the pitch. That’s it.”
Klopp clearly admired the effort put in by the new man, but given Mac Allister’s dismissal was Liverpool’s first red card for a year and four days since Darwin Nunez lost his head against Crystal Palace on his own home debut, it is no surprise that going down to 10 men isn’t something the manager often plans for.
Indeed, this was just the 10th red card Liverpool have received in what is now nearly eight years of Klopp’s tenure, although incidentally they haven’t lost a game in which they’ve had a man sent off since Sadio Mane’s dismissal in the 5-0 defeat at Manchester City in September 2017.
They showed resolve to win this one, with Endo helping, and the signs from both this game and the latest moves in the transfer market are that the Japanese could be set for a more prominent role than many think.
Indeed, it was he that Klopp turned to in the moment of crisis and not the returning Stefan Bajcetic, with the teenager on the bench for the first time since March. Thiago Alcantara was sitting there too, although not as part of the matchday squad.
With Jordan Henderson and Fabinho gone, those three are likely to represent the closest thing Liverpool have to pure No.6s throughout this season, with Klopp confident that they, along with Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold, possess enough ability in the position to get his side through games.
There could be another name to add into that mix in terms of a new signing of course, but it is likely to be a multi-functional midfielder rather than ‘just’ a defensive one in the mould of Fabinho, or indeed of Endo. The Brazilian was, after all, pretty much the only one of those on the books at the club last season.
