Wataru Endo has revealed he thought Moises Caicedo had dashed his hopes of a dream move to the Premier League with Liverpool.
The Japan international's switch to Anfield came about after the Reds had failed to land either of their primary holding midfield targets Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
In the case of the former, they had even got as far as agreeing a British record £111m fee with Brighton, but missed out once it emerged that the player's preference was a move to Chelsea.
That all led to a shock swoop for Endo, who admits he thought the opportunity of a summer move to England had already passed him by.
MORE: Why did Liverpool sign Wataru Endo?
Speaking after making his debut in a 3-1 win over Bournemouth, he said: "To be honest I followed Liverpool’s news, that they wanted midfielders they wanted a number six.
"But yeah, I thought Caicedo had gone to Liverpool! (Laughs). So when he went to Chelsea I just thought, maybe, maybe.
“I thought maybe they needed experienced midfielders or something like that, because Henderson had moved, and also Fabinho had moved to another club, so I thought there may be a chance."
Once Liverpool did decide to bring in the unheralded Endo from Stuttgart, they moved quickly to get a deal over the line.
Asked when he had first heard of the Reds' interest, he replied: “It was three or four days ago!
"I heard that Liverpool wanted me, and it was so quick, I had to decide so quickly, but actually I couldn’t say no, because to play in the Premier League was always my dream.
“I always [said] to my agent that I wanted to play Premier League, and play for a top, top team, so here I am!
“My agent called me, and yes, it was a yes straight away that I wanted to come here. I decided immediately.
“A lot of my friends and family are watching but in Japan right, not here, because there was not time for anyone to get here — I just said goodbye to my family, and came here.
"There weren’t even any Japanese journalists who could get here!"
In preparation for his move to the Premier League, Endo sought the advice of two international teammates familiar with the division.
Among them was Takumi Minamino, who formed part of the Liverpool squad that lifted a first league title in 30 years in 2019-20.
He added: “Yesterday I talked with Taki, but not hours —- he talked about how the team is, and what to expect.
"And also Takehiro Tomiyasu — we spoke about how the Premier League is, things like that.
"I think I need to keep working hard — I need time to do it better, to adapt to the physicality, for me it is a great step I think, and yeah I have to get ready for the next game.
"Physically it was more difficult than the Bundesliga - Premier League teams have individually some very strong players, and so yeah, there is a big difference, and also the same tempo but also a bit different in my opinion.
"It is faster, in the Bundesliga nobody has time to take too many touches, but here I have to play one touch football for example. And yeah, I need to change the mindset."
Endo also backed himself to stand up the challenge of moving to the Premier League later in his career than he might have expected.
He continued: "I understand top clubs want young talent, but you know I just try to (say to myself). 'This is the only chance you can move to Liverpool, because they always try to get younger players'.
"But every team can get younger players, right, so yeah I got that chance, and I intend to take it."
