‘Massive step’: Jurgen Klopp says £16m Liverpool player could struggle now

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that it could take Wataru Endo a while to get used to the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp has told Liverpool’s official website that it could take Wataru Endo some time to get used to football in the Premier League and to make the step-up at Anfield.

Endo joined Liverpool from VfB Stuttgart in the summer transfer window.

According to Sky Sports, the Premier League club paid £16.2 million in transfer fees for the defensive midfielder.

Wataru Endo
The 30-year-old Japan international is also able to play as a centre-back.

Endo has made one start and one substitute appearance in the Premier League for Liverpool this season.

Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool summer signing Wataru Endo
Klopp said: “For Endo, it’s a massive step, a massive change in the way he used to play and the way we play, so that obviously needs a bit of time to get there but it’s no problem.”

We do not think that Wataru Endo would prove to be a particularly great signing for Liverpool.

Of course, we know that Liverpool have a good track record in recruitment.

And manager Jurgen Klopp would not accepted a deal for Endo if he did not think that the Japan international could help his side.

However, he was playing for VfB Stuttgart in a league where Bayern Munich snap up all the best players on a regular basis.

Why did Bundesliga champions Bayern not sign the Japan international if he were that good?

And he cost just over £16 million.
Bayern could have surely afforded that.

If Endo were really one of the best players in Europe, then he would not have been at VfB Stuttgart at the age of 30.

A bigger club would have signed him by now.