Liverpool made several bids for Romeo Lavia in the summer before losing the midfielder to Chelsea.
Wataru Endo will be sorely missed by Liverpool when he leaves for the Asian Cup after the game against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day.
When Jurgen Klopp signed the 30-year-old from VfB Stuttgart for £16.2m in August, he sold Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea and lost Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia.
A slow start in the Premier League has done little to quell criticism of the Japan international.
Of course, Endo was not the only midfielder under pressure at Anfield. There are also question marks over Alexis McAllister as Klopp continues to use the Argentine as a midfielder.
But since the international break in November, both players have shown method through the madness.Mac Allister impressed in the No.6 role for Manchester City five weeks ago and scored his first goal the following week in a 4-3 win over Fulham at the Etihad Stadium as Liverpool drew 1-1.
The previously out-of-sorts 25-year-old missed the game against Sheffield United with a foot injury but could return against Newcastle after returning to first-team training earlier this week.
Alexis McAllister, Diogo Jota, Joel Matip – Liverpool injury list and expected return dateBut in the absence of a World Cup winner, Endo has shone in recent weeks. He also scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool against the Cottagers.
Since then he has started the Reds’ last seven games, his performance perhaps most notable in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
The jury is still out on whether Klopp’s side need a no. 6, but their situation seems much healthier than a few months ago.
Mac Allister and Endo are both growing into the role, Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to emerge as a true midfielder and Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic should return from long-term injuries in the new year.
Endo’s form has been so great in recent weeks that his absence will certainly be felt ahead of the Asian Cup.
With Thiago not far behind, McAllister’s return to first-team training will at least soften the blow for Klopp and Liverpool. Given the way the chaotic summer transfer window has unfolded and Endo’s possible surprise departure after the poor performances of Caicedo and Lavia, the Reds’ successful first half of the season at the top of the Premier League seems a little surreal.
Few could have predicted this, especially after last year’s transition struggles. Klopp made a comfortable start to the club’s summer transfer window earlier this month, speaking at a trial event for the new stand at Anfield Road and entertaining the crowd with light-hearted remarks about the former Chelsea and Liverpool target.”
In the summer, in the summer transfer window, we had some strange incidents,” he recalls. “But among me here, we can say, God, we were lucky, weren’t we?”“I didn’t know it at the time and it didn’t feel like it at the time. But m. I’m so glad it happened.
“I don’t know, but I felt really good before training started. Obviously we had Macka (Alexis McAllister) and Dommen (Dominik Szoboslai) and we knew Ryan (Gravenburch) had a chance.
