Stuttgart cannot begrudge Wataru Endo for jumping at a £16 million move to Premier League giants Liverpool, the Japan international’s former Bundesliga team-mate Waldemar Anton admits.
At the age of 30, and having never before represented one of the top clubs on the continent, Wataru Endo may have felt that such an opportunity would never come around again.
As the likes of Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo slammed the door in Jurgen Klopp’s face, an unexpected window of opportunity opened up for the perennially-underrated, often under-the-radar Endo.
Liverpool certainly found the veteran enforcer far more attainable – never mind affordable – than their many other midfield targets; the Reds completing Endo’s £16 million signing around 24 hours before AFC Bournemouth are due to arrive at Anfield.
Stuttgart defender Anton, meanwhile, understands that this was an opportunity Endo could not let slip through his fingers.
Liverpool sign Wataru Endo from Stuttgart
“Of course, we would all have preferred it if Wataru had stayed,” Anton tells BILD. “Because he is simply great in terms of sport and personality.
“But he’s not going just anywhere. He’s going to Liverpool Football Club. One of the best clubs in the world. We understand he wanted to seize this opportunity, and we wish him the best.”
Stuttgart coach Sebastien Hoeness issued a similarly bittersweet response to Endo’s departure on Thursday, admitting that finding a successor to their iconic skipper – the man who’s 92nd minute goal on the final day of 2021/22 saved Stuttgart from relegation – will be easier said than done.
‘Difficult to replace’
“You have to look at the whole thing differently: We have a player who has the opportunity at 30 to move to Liverpool in the Premier League and fulfil his dream,” the former Bayern Munich reserve coach tells Kicker.
“There was relatively little room for me to change anything.
“I’m not going to start complaining. I said that to myself. We will miss him. Nevertheless, we trust ourselves to compensate for this, at least in the short term. It will be difficult to replace him like-for-like, but we will try.
“We are working flat out on it. There are possibilities. I have ideas in my head, but I don’t want to make them public.”
Liverpool are reportedly targeting a left-sided centre-half now. Rennes’ Arthur Theate is a potential addition.
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