18 August 2023 , 12:06
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Jurgen Klopp has explained why Liverpool went against their usual transfer policy when signing Wataru Endo, revealing a number of his former players have already told him it's a "genius" move.
Endo has joined the Reds from Stuttgart in an €18m (£15.4m) deal and the Japan captain has been tasked with filling the void left by Fabinho and Jordan Henderson's moves to Saudi Arabia.
He became a target after both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia opted to join Chelsea instead of Liverpool, but Klopp is delighted with the capture of Endo. He insists Endo was always on the club's radar, but was not their first-choice as Liverpool's transfer policy means they do not typically sign players in their thirties.
However, they decided to make an exception for Endo with Klopp insisting he is ready to make an instant impact. Speaking to club media, Klopp said: "I'm really happy. Wataru is a really good player.
"I know in this world of football how it goes and stuff like this, but have a look, have a look, because he's a really good player. Experienced player, captain of Stuttgart, captain of Japan, speaks good English, nice fella, family man, machine on the pitch, good footballer on top of that, sensational attitude.
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"So, I'm really happy. He's a good footballer, very experienced and loves to work extremely hard. If he's not 30, firstly, I am not sure we get him. Second, he was always on my list, just usually we don't sign players of this age group.
"He is obviously a top fit and we will have a lot of fun with him. I'm really sure he can help us immediately, which is super-cool because the season already started. So, he will show how good he is on the pitch and I can't wait to have him around."
Endo has joined Liverpool from Stuttgart (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Klopp also revealed several of his former players got in contact with him after it emerged Liverpool were interested in Endo, calling the move a "genius strike". He added: "Since there's a rumour out or was a rumour out, I got plenty of messages from former players of mine and stuff like this.
"Everybody [was like], 'If it's true, this is a genius strike. I asked to sign him for years' and stuff like this. It was a very positive thing in Germany – he's super-highly respected.
"I think for Stuttgart it's really hard to lose him but on the other side I think it's a good deal as well, one year left [on his] contract. For him, it's good. For the club, it's good. For us, it's really good. He is really happy to join us, which is nice as well."