Jurgen Klopp is delighted to follow Wataru Endo back to Liverpool.The midfielder is available for the Reds again after missing the last seven games. Endo played with Japan in the Asian Cup before losing in the quarter-finals to Iran.Endo joined Liverpool from Stuttgart for £16m during the summer transfer window. After a slow start to his career at Anfield, he has secured a starting place in Klopp’s side. Endo started five games in the No.6 role, recording wins against West Ham, Burnley and Newcastle and draws against Manchester United and Arsenal.
Liverpool will be without midfield trio Dominic Szoboszlay, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Vaicetic when they face Burnley today. But Endo gives the Reds a boost and Klopp admitted the 31-year-old looked good in training. Asked how important Endo’s return was, the Reds boss said: “Very [important]. Yeah, from that point of view it’s probably the wrong thing to do, except that we had a great time without it.
It was very impressive. Wataru had a great influence in this field even before he left. “He was so good defensively that he allowed us to bring in and use a lot of forwards at a lot of times. But so is the gameplay aspect of the game.
Today is his birthday, [he] is 31 years old. He seems to be doing well since his return, so he is a very important person. No matter how I say it, it’s very important considering all the problems players are going through right now. “Obviously Mo (Salah) hasn’t come back well, which means we really need all our players.”
