Wataru Endo’s time at Liverpool could be coming to an end with the midfielder not part of Arne Slot’s long-term plans, according to The Athletic’s Andy Jones.
Endo joined Liverpool from Bundesliga side Stuttgart last summer in a deal worth £15m and was expected to be a fixture in the Reds’ squad.
The 31-year-old ended up playing regularly for Jurgen Klopp and played a key role in qualifying for the Champions League.
Endo is not part of Slot’s plans
However, after making 43 appearances in all competitions last season, with 29 of those coming in the Premier League, Endo finds himself in a different position this season.
The midfielder is yet to start a game for Slot and has played just one minute of Premier League football, while he also came on for a minute in the Champions League win over AC Milan on Tuesday night.
Slot has preferred to use other options on the Japan international and Jones believes there are already very encouraging signs that the Dutchman does not want Endo as part of his long-term plans, having featured sparingly in pre-season and at the beginning of the campaign.
“I think we’ve seen in pre-season, and Slot’s lack of use of him and the fact that eventually Liverpool decided to also recruit a number six, which doesn’t seem to be part of Liverpool’s long-term plans .” he said The Athletic’s Walk On Podcast.
“I think in terms of this year, now that you’ve got him, I think his role is maybe not to start games, but to sort of do the final 20 minutes, the final 15 minutes of a game when we expect Liverpool to be quite comfortable to be able to carry it and prop things up.
“He can keep the ball ticking, he can do the simple things, he’s just not a progressive passer, that’s the problem.”
Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones have been preferred by Slot and with Harvey Elliott yet to return from injury, Endo will be pushed further down the pecking order.
It’s no secret that Liverpool are looking for a number six having failed to land Martin Zubimendi this summer and it looks like the writing is already on the wall for Endo despite only being at the club for a short time.
