BBC pundit Paul Salt has questioned Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for picking Wataru Endo against Brentford despite the Japanese’s disappointing display in the Europa League defeat versus Toulouse last week.
Having endured a dire campaign last term, the Reds opted to revamp their engine room last summer by signing four new midfielders. However, they couldn’t manage to reinforce the holding midfield position by purchasing a top-class player.
Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo were seemingly their primary targets, but they couldn’t manage to purchase either of them. So, after failing to secure the signature of their primary options, they decided to sign Endo from Stuttgart in a £17m deal to add depth to their midfield department.
However, the move hasn’t panned out for the Merseyside club as the 30-year-old has struggled to showcase his best for Liverpool so far this season.
Speaking on the Red Kop Podcast, Salt has said that the Premier League is seemingly too quick for Endo as he has found it difficult to time his tackles.
Pundit questions Klopp
The pundit further states that he was surprised when he saw the Japanese was starting against Brentford, especially after his poor display in the Europa League last week.
Salt said:
“It’s a bit concerning for me, he just seems a little bit too slow for the game, or the game is too fast for him. His tackling is off, but I don’t know whether that’s because he can’t get up to pace. I was surprised he played [against Brentford] because he had an absolute stinker in the first half on Thursday.”
Although Liverpool couldn’t sign a top-class deep-lying playmaker last summer, they are now seemingly looking to do that in January as they have been linked with numerous names in recent weeks.
Arthur Vermeeren, Andre Trindade and Joao Neves have all been mentioned as serious targets for the Merseyside club. So, it is going to be interesting to see whether Klopp’s side eventually opt to sign a new defensive midfielder in the upcoming transfer window to reinforce their engine room.
Meanwhile, after a comfortable victory over Brentford last weekend, Liverpool will take on Manchester City in the Premier League after the international break. So, the Anfield club will be hoping to win that crucial game and move up to the summit of the table.
