Phil Thompson says Liverpool 30-year-old has ‘surprised everybody’ at the club

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There are some players who just scream ‘a Jurgen Klopp-type player’ and you feel Wataru Endo falls into that category.

When Liverpool signed the 30-year-old in the summer, he joined with the fans slightly deflated because certain targets, from Jude Bellingham to Moises Caicedo, weren’t delivered by the club.

The Japan star arrived for a fee of £16.2 million from Stuttgart, with little expectations on his shoulders and just hope that he can lift a declining midfield.

Fast forward to the present and Wataru Endo is quickly becoming a firm fan favourite at Anfield, with Phil Thompson stating that he has ‘surprised everybody’, as he told talkSPORT. 

Liverpool are sitting top of the Premier League table, three points ahead of second-placed Aston Villa, with their midfield a key reason behind their rise again.

Last season, with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho operating proceedings in the middle of the park, the team lost that spark and edge.

But, as Phil Thompson mentioned, the likes of Wataru Endo have played a part in ‘the pressing working’ again, which is so crucial to how Jurgen Klopp teams operate.

Wataru Endo at Liverpool

“This is the enlightening thing for us Liverpool fans and for other people watching,” said Thompson. 

“How are they going to reinvent the midfield area? Players have come forward, the likes of Curtis Jones, who was excellent against Newcastle United. Harvey Elliott, then Endo has surprised everybody. Szoboszlai has done the same. We are losing Endo, but Mac Allister is coming back in.

“You said there ‘the pressing is working’. The main difference from last season to this season has been the higher energy press has been back.”

Wataru Endo an unsung hero

Liverpool need a player like this, Klopp needs a player like this and now he has one.

Others might do the eye-catching stuff, but Endo goes about his business, reads situations brilliantly, wins the ball back and lets others express themselves.

The key thing here is that he is growing into his role. He needed time to settle in and now he is starting to get warm, fans are starting to see what he is all about.

And with Liverpool sitting top of the table, if Endo can help guide the team to the title, then it would be some debut season in the Premier League for the player.