Why Liverpool are signing Wataru Endo: Stats, position, FIFA rating for midfielder set to join from Stuttgart

Ben Miller

Why Liverpool are signing Wataru Endo: Stats, position, FIFA rating for midfielder set to join from Stuttgart image

Liverpool's midfield manoeuvering has been one of the most intriguing aspects of the close season after Fabinho, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson and James Milner all left the club during the summer.

Manager Jurgen Klopp's keenness to sign a defensive midfielder was hindered during the first week of the 2023/24 season by transfer targets Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia both preferring Chelsea's advances.

The Reds have now agreed a deal with German club Stuttgart for Wataru Endo, a 30-year-old who boasts 50 international caps for Japan. The transfer fee is in the region of £16.2 million ($20.6m) and Endo will join on a "long-term contract" subject to international clearance.

Why are Liverpool signing the player? Here's a look at the motives behind the move, some of his key stats and his FIFA 23 figures.

MORE: Analysing Liverpool's transfer spending compared to Premier League rivals

Why Liverpool are signing Wataru Endo

Liverpool had agreed a British record fee of £111 million ($141.5m) with Brighton & Hove Albion for Caicedo and were set to complete the signing on August 11, two days before their season began at Stamford Bridge.

Within hours of that agreement being announced, there was a huge twist when news emerged that Caicedo had set his heart on joining Chelsea instead.

Caicedo's wish was granted when the club who had spent the summer circling him finally succeeded for an initial £100m ($127.5m), rising to £115m ($146.6m) based on appearances, a day after his new club drew 1-1 with their rival bidders.

A similar situation materialised with Lavia. With Chelsea lurking, Liverpool agreed a £60m ($76.5m) deal with Southampton after the Caicedo move fell through, only for the Belgium newcomer to choose the same path as the Ecuador sensation.

Moises Caicedo Chelsea 081523 (1)
Chelsea

Liverpool's need to revitalise their midfield and restore the steel it possessed before their underwhelming 2022/23 season was made more pressing by their player departures, particularly Fabinho, who specialised in acting as a pivot between defence and attack at the base of their central three.

The Brazilian enforcer, who has joined Henderson in the Saudi Pro League, made more interceptions (37) than any Liverpool player except Trent Alexander-Arnold last season and won only two tackles fewer than the England international (38), which still put him 12 ahead of any of his team-mates by that count.

Fabinho also won more duels (126) than any player except centre-back Virgil van Dijk and won possession 180 times, second only to Alexander-Arnold and six ahead of next-nearest team-mate Andy Robertson. And he wasn't even widely considered to have had a good season.

Against Chelsea, Alexis Mac Allister operated in defensive midfield for Liverpool with an average position just within the centre circle.

Alexis Mac Allister 081123
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The £35m ($44.6m) signing won possession 10 times — only Robertson, with 11, did so more — and joined centre-back Ibrahima Konate in winning seven duels.

Konate and Mac Allister each won more duels than any other player from either team, and three more than any of their team-mates.

Mac Allister's tenacity and passing abilities are among the qualities that allow him to excel in a deep-lying position, but manager Jurgen Klopp will want to see more of the FIFA World Cup winner in the attacking role where he starred for Brighton last season — or, at least, being less restricted by defensive responsibilities.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo joined Mac Allister in midfield, but the former, a £60m ($76.5m) signing from RB Leipzig, spent most of his time on the right wing in Germany. Forward Gakpo was the leading goals and assists provider in the Dutch Eredivisie when he joined for £35m ($44.6m) from PSV in December and spent the majority of his time with Liverpool in 2022/23 in attack.

Klopp's post-match spin on the situation involved accentuating how "very important" it is for players not to have set positions, explaining that Gakpo had again been used as a No. 8 after fulfilling that role during preseason.

An entertainingly open game featured what stats experts Opta described as "a conspicuous Caicedo-shaped hole in each of the two midfields".

"You could see... a lot of spaces to cover, gaps to close — and that was actually our problem in the game," Klopp said afterwards.

That is where Endo comes in.

Wataru Endo stats: What makes him perfect for Liverpool?

After initially joining Stuttgart on loan from Belgian side Sint-Truidense early in the 2019/20 season, the future club and national-team captain made the most challenges in the Bundesliga in 2020/21 and the fourth-most during the subsequent season.

Since his German top-flight debut in September 2020, Endo has been involved in the most duels (1,274), won possession the most times (706) of all but one player, and made the second-most tackles (207).

Klopp valued the dependability of his old midfield guard, with Fabinho missing two Premier League games last season, Henderson absent from three and Milner participating in almost every match while missing only six in all competitions through injury.

The reliable Endo has played the most minutes (8,783) of any Bundesliga player since his first appearance in the competition, featuring in all but 43 minutes of Stuttgart's last league campaign apart from a game he missed because of concussion protocol.

He can play as a centre-back and will be well-known by Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke, who helped oversee transfers for four clubs across 22 years in Germany.

Although Endo is not a prolific scorer, he found the net at vital times for Stuttgart. One came in stoppage time on the final day of the campaign to spare them from a relegation playoff two seasons ago — a moment that earned him hero status, and one he will never forget.

Flourishing in a team that spent most of last season in the Bundesliga bottom three, Endo directly contributed to four goals in three games at the end of 2022/23 as part of a run of one defeat in eight matches to finish the campaign, followed up by a 6-1 aggregate win in a relegation playoff against Hamburg.

Crucially in their relegation battle, no team in the bottom seven in Germany conceded fewer goals than Stuttgart, helped by their "screen" in front of The Swabians' backline.

In a profile of Endo, the Bundesliga likened him to Claude Makelele, the esteemed former France international midfielder. Makelele was a La Liga and European champion with Real Madrid who later helped Chelsea reach the UEFA Champions League final and won every trophy in England while he was at the club between 2003 and 2008, including two Premier League titles.

Their assessment described Endo as "constantly on the look-out for danger deep in the engine room and immediately aware of the right options going forward", with "all of the tough yet accurate tackling abilities and eye for a defence-splitting pass" of Makelele, who was a World Cup finalist in 2006.

"Whether he plays as a centre-back or as a defensive midfielder, it's good that he's there and performs," former Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat once said, calling Endo's personal and playing qualities "simply incredibly valuable". "He's one of these anchors — a focal point in our system."

Wataru Endo age: Why Liverpool are breaking with recent tradition

Endo will turn 31 in February 2024, and while he will be far cheaper than Caicedo or Lavia, there is a question over whether he meets the established age profile for signings at Liverpool.

Lavia is 19 and Caicedo is 21, while the only outfield player aged over 30 signed by Klopp during his eight-year reign so far has been defender Ragnar Klavan in 2019.

Only Thiago Alcantara, whose creative freedom should be boosted by Endo's presence, will be older among Liverpool's midfielders, while four of the six players to leave on a permanent basis during the summer were over 30, with Fabinho hitting that age in October.

Given that Endo only turned 30 in February, Klopp may not worry too much about making an exception for a talent whose hard-running approach to defensive duties shows no signs of slowing.

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Wataru Endo career: Profile, trophies, other midfielders compared

Endo's international career includes helping Japan to a fourth-placed finish at the 2020 Olympics, returning from the Games to take the armband for the first time at Stuttgart.

His early achievements included winning the second division in Japan with Shonan Bellmare, and his trophies include the Asian Football Confederation Champions League and Japanese League Cup after he signed for Urawa Red Diamonds in 2016.

Of the 99 games Endo has played in Stuttgart's No. 3 shirt in the Bundesliga, 26 have resulted in victories. He has directly contributed to 23 goals during those games, and he scored once during Stuttgart's run to the semifinals of leading German cup competition the DFB-Pokal in 2022/23.

In order of similarity, Endo was closest to Germany's Felix Nmecha, France's Adrien Rabiot, Spain's Mikel Merino and Argentina's Nicolas Dominguez, according to Fbref's comparison of midfielders based on the year to August 17, 2023.

Barcelona's Gavi and Manchester United's Casemiro were also ranked among the top 10 players most similar to him across the period.

  • Birthdate: February 9, 1993
  • Birthplace: Yokohama, Japan
  • Height: 1.78 m (5ft 10in)
  • Weight: 76kg (11st 10lb)
  • Clubs: Shonan Bellmare (2010/15), Urawa Red Diamonds (2016/18), Sint-Truiden (2018/20), Stuttgart (from 2019, initially on loan during 2019/20)
  • Club matches / goals / assists: 439 / 47 / 28
  • International matches / goals / assists: 50 / 2 / 2
  • Yellow cards: 38
  • Red cards: 0

MORE: Top 10 Premier League transfers for 2023

Wataru Endo FIFA rating

Right-footed Endo has a medium attacking workrate and high defensive workrate on FIFA 23.

He has a three-star rating for skill moves and four-star weak foot rating.

  • Overall: 79
  • Potential: 79
  • Attack: Crossing 55; Finishing 65; Heading accuracy 78; Short pass 82; Volleys 26
  • Skill: Dribbling 78; Curve 43; Free-kick accuracy 46; Long passing 78; Ball control 81
  • Power: Shot power 73; Jumping 91; Stamina 90; Strength 66; Long shots 70
  • Movement: Acceleration 73; Sprint speed 55; Agility 73; Reactions 82; Balance 80
  • Mental: Aggression 76; Interceptions 79; Attacking position 66; Vision 75; Penalties 62; Composure 83
  • Defence: Defensive awareness 82; Standing tackles 79; Slide tackles 72
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Liverpool transfers for 2023/24

Mac Allister arrived at Anfield less than two weeks after the end of the 2022/23 season, followed by Szoboszlai almost a month later.

Four fringe players were allowed to leave on season-long loan deals before Henderson and Fabinho sealed lucrative moves to Saudi Arabia.

Henderson has joined Al Ettifaq and Fabinho is now with Al Ittihad. Roberto Firmino joined Saudi side Al Ahli after his contract expired, and Naby Keita signed for German club Werder Bremen.

Players in Date Position From Fee
Alexis Mac Allister Jun 8 Midfielder Brighton £35m ($44.6m)
Dominik Szoboszlai Jul 2 Midfielder Leipzig £60m ($76.5m)
Wataru Endo TBC Midfielder Stuttgart £16.2m ($20.6m)

 

Players out     To Fee
Roberto Firmino Jun 1 Forward Contract expired N/A
Naby Keita Jun 1 Midfielder Contract expired N/A
James Milner Jun 1 Midfielder Contract expired N/A
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Jun 1 Midfielder Contract expired N/A
Calvin Ramsay Jun 13 Defender Preston North End Loan (season)
Rhys Williams Jun 28 Defender Aberdeen Loan (season)
Fabio Carvalho Jun 30 Midfielder Leipzig Loan (season)
Sepp van den Berg July 13 Defender Mainz Loan (season)
Jordan Henderson Jul 27 Midfielder Al Ettifaq £12m ($15.3m)
Fabinho Aug 1 Midfielder Al Ittihad £40m ($51m)

Ben Miller

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Ben Miller has been writing about sport for 25 years, following all levels of football as well as boxing, MMA, athletics and tennis. He’s seen five promotions, three relegations, one World Cup winner and home games in at least three different stadiums as a result of his lifelong devotion to Brighton & Hove Albion. His main aim each week is to cover at least one game or event that does not require a last-minute rewrite.