Wataru Endo has been a largely excellent acquisition for Liverpool since his arrival from Stuttgart last August, but it seems that the 31-year-old isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Former Tottenham and Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood was analysing the Reds’ 4-1 weekend win at Brentford for Premier League Productions when he gave his two cents on Jurgen Klopp’s starting midfield, voicing a rather baffling criticism of the Japan captain.
The 55-year-old said: “Look at the back to front. They’re so quick, but I didn’t like their midfield, I really didn’t. I didn’t like [Alexis] Mac Allister in that position. I don’t like Endo. Their range of passing, hit it quickly because it never gives the defenders any respite.”
Of course it looks great to see players spraying quick, direct passes, but Liverpool already have plenty of those in their squad. Although they may be absent at the moment, the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Dominik Szoboszlai can unlock opposition defences in an instant.
Endo’s main remit in Klopp’s team is to be the dominant midfield enforcer that we were so badly missing last season, and he’s slotted into that role commendably, giving a magnificent performance against Brentford on Saturday.
As someone who’s managed in the Premier League, you’d think that Sherwood would have a greater appreciation of players like the 31-year-old who put in so much diligent work out of possession for the benefit of the team as a whole.
Just because the Japan captain doesn’t regularly produce moments to get fans off their seats doesn’t mean that he isn’t an invaluable contributor at Liverpool, who landed him for a bargain by paying just £16m for him at the start of the season.
We’re sure that if you ask Klopp or any of Endo’s teammates, they’d have no qualms whatsoever about his range of passing, considering the qualities that he brings to the side in a wider sense.
Sherwood’s comments might well have Reds fans facepalming in disbelief.
#Ep102 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones
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