Despite being a complete mystery when he signed with Liverpool in the summer of 2023, Endo silenced his detractors and created quite a stir at Anfield before making a triumphant return to the Japanese squad for the 2023 Asian Cup.

Wataru Endo will be missed by Liverpool.
While representing Liverpool in the 2023 Asian Cup, Wataru Endo silenced his critics and left an empty spot on the team. Analysis by Opta

Unexpectedly, Liverpool paid 16 million pounds to sign Wataru Endo away from Vfb Stuttgart in August 2023. Some others had never heard of Endo before, and others weren’t convinced of the Japanese star’s talent. Their suspicion is that the 1993-born midfielder will meet the same fate as his fellow countryman Takumi Minamino at Anfield.

After Liverpool’s dismal transfer window, Endo is seen as a “firefighting” contract, which makes this even more valid. After losing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea in the transfer markets, the Anfield club finally turned their attention to Wataru Endo.

After Wataru Endo’s lackluster start, skepticism about the Japanese player intensified. In a 3-1 win over Bournemouth in the second round of the Premier League, the midfielder, who was born in 1993, came off the bench in the 62nd minute. Round 3’s encounter against Newcastle United featured Endo starting, but Virgil van Dijk’s red card forced him to make way for Harvey Elliott in the 58th minute.

Upon initially joining Liverpool, Wataru Endo encountered some challenges. Image courtesy of AFP

Upon initially joining Liverpool, Wataru Endo encountered some challenges. Image courtesy of AFP

With 6.5 and 6.6 points, respectively—lower than the team average—from Sofascore, the Japanese player failed to have a significant impact in both matches. Word on the street is that the lightning-fast pace and nail-biting intensity of English football completely overwhelmed Wataru Endo.

Against Newcastle in the inaugural match of 2024, more than four months later, Endo started again from the beginning. The 30-year-old forward completely turned up his performance compared to his August showing. He was composed, assured, and completely dominated Liverpool’s midfield.

Endo had Liverpool’s best completion rate (91.3%), despite playing just 75 minutes before “Magpies.” He managed to complete 63 of 69 passes. With 37 attempts, the Japanese midfielder completed 91.9% of his passes inside the opponent’s half.

Only Trent Alexander-Arnold has more successful interceptions (4) than Endo (3). This outstanding display was a key factor in Liverpool’s 4-2 Premier League victory over Newcastle, which set a new record for an xG of 7.29 set in a Premier League encounter since the 2010 season. 2011 was a year.

Endo eventually adjusted to his new life in the red half of Merseyside after the season’s early challenges. Even though he just came on as a substitute for Fulham for three minutes, Endo made a huge impact with the goal that tied the game at three-all. The 1993-born midfielder picked up the ball on Salah’s return and curled it precisely from outside the penalty area into the far corner of goal, beating goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

When Mac Allister isn’t available, Opta Analyst Endo steps in admirably.

In Mac Allister’s absence, Endo is a suitable substitute: Opta Researcher

Thanks to his stellar performances, Endo has started five games in as many days, becoming him the first midfielder to accomplish so for the club since January 2006. The 2-0 win against Burnley on December 27 by Liverpool proved Endo was capable. Klopp substituted Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott, the two center midfielders, after more than an hour of play. Out of all the midfielders, only Wataru Endo saw action throughout the entire contest.

Jurgen Klopp himself was very complimentary of that performance:

“The Endo match was fantastic. One more person who could be named “Best Player of the Match” is him. Playing without Endo in this encounter will be challenging for Liverpool. It’s unfortunate that he had to adapt so quickly, but he must miss the Asian Cup.

The most insightful criticisms of Endo’s work come from Klopp. Playing central midfielder as a 1.78 m tall Asian player in his debut season in England was not an easy task. The inverse, however, was shown by Endo.

Endo has been the most effective midfielder for Liverpool in the Premier League this season, winning 1.9 aerial duels for every 90 minutes played. When it comes to aerial duels per 90 minutes, the Japanese star is second only to eight Premier League midfielders who have played 500 minutes or more. In addition, Endo had the most successful aerial duels in the Bundesliga before his move to Liverpool, with 2.2 per 90 minutes.

While playing for Liverpool, Endo demonstrated his impact. Analysis by Opta

While playing for Liverpool, Endo demonstrated his impact. Analysis by Opta

With the midfielder, who was born in 1993, starting every Premier League game since the season began, Liverpool has not lost a single game. Under Endo’s leadership, the “Red Brigade” allowed just three goals. Every time Endo came on, the Kop dropped five goals (0.6 goals per match), although they still won six of eight matches (75%) overall.

In contrast, The Kop only won 7 out of 12 matches (58.3% of the time) and let in 13 goals (1.1 goals per match) while Endo was benched. Furthermore, Liverpool won 11 of 15 matches (73.3%) and scored 34 goals (2.3 goals per match) in the Premier League when the Japanese midfielder was on the field. Liverpool managed just 2 victories (or 40%) and 9 goals (or 1.8 goals per match) in Endo’s absence from the lineup for 5 matches.

Ultimately, Wataru Endo deserves the honor of being named Liverpool’s greatest player of December. Not only did the Japanese international step up when Mac Allister was out with an injury, but he has also been an excellent substitute for Fabinho in the defensive midfield role.

While Endo is away from Liverpool competing in the 2023 Asian Cup, the Premier League is about to enter its most intensive time, which will last for the next five weeks. If Jurgen Klopp is serious about winning, he must confront this formidable obstacle and discover a way to overcome it. led Liverpool to a Premier League championship this season.