Wataru Endo may have struggled for game time but Arne Slot is claimed to have no plans to move him on, while the midfielder is “happy and settled” at Liverpool.
Endo is set to be among those rotated into Slot’s starting lineup for the final four games of the season, but as it stands he is yet to start in the Premier League.
• READ: Slot confirms plan to rotate now title is won – squad players “deserve to play”
That comes despite the 32-year-old impressing whenever called upon, typically sent on to hold onto leads in the final stages of games or as an experienced option in the domestic cups.
His lack of minutes has led to speculation over a summer transfer, with Eintracht Frankfurt among the sides linked, and Endo would be forgiven for considering his options.
But The Athletic‘s James Pearce has claimed that Slot is “planning for next season” with his No. 3 in mind, seeing him as a “valuable squad player.”
Furthermore, Pearce reports that while game time is a “consideration” for Endo ahead of next summer’s World Cup, he is “happy and settled” at Liverpool – and as captain of Japan, he is likely to feature prominently regardless.
Of course that could change if the club are presented with a sizeable offer, but it may be telling that an £11.8 million bid from Marseille was rejected last summer.
Slot has relied upon Ryan Gravenberch as his starting No. 6 this season, but there is a sense that he may have rotated the Dutchman more if he had another deep-lying midfielder of a similar profile.
Liverpool did look to sign a ball-player in Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi a year ago but the Spaniard made a late U-turn as the club prepared to activate his release clause.
Zubimendi could be on the move again this summer with Arsenal considered his likely destination, while Pearce writes that “signing another holding midfielder is no longer a priority.”
Interestingly, though, despite reports at the time that it was Zubimendi or nothing for Liverpool, the journalist has also named their backup plan.
Who Liverpool considered after Zubimendi
That was Endo’s successor at Stuttgart, Angelo Stiller, who Pearce claims was “considered as an alternative” before Slot, Richard Hughes and his recruitment staff “opted to push on with what they had.”
Stiller, a 24-year-old Germany international who is in the elite percentile for passes attempted, progressive passes and expected assists for midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues, is reported to have a release clause of around £34 million.
He could be a player worth keeping an eye on despite claims from Liverpool sources around Gravenberch and Endo – with plenty of changes expected in the summer to come.
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