Liverpool may face a mini-crisis in defense at Wolves on Saturday, but Jurgen Klopp may already have a solution ready to deploy.
Jürgen Klopp is happy to see the international break behind him. The Liverpool boss is notoriously loathe to send his players to work in his home country, and in this case you will surely understand why.
Liverpool had already built some real momentum after four games before the stoppage. The Reds’ best performance came just before the break when they made it three in a row against Aston Villa and Klopp will be hoping to pick up where he left off against Wolves on Saturday. But the Liverpool boss may have a bit of a headache with his side ahead of the trip to Molineux. After losing Ibrahima Konate to injury ahead of Newcastle’s win,
Virgil van Dijk has been handed a ban which has now been extended, ruling him out of his return this weekend.
Plus, with Trent Alexander-Arnold a doubt after being sent off against Villa and Conor Bradley sidelined with a broken back, defensive options could be a little tight this weekend.
Also, Stefan Bajčetić’s chance might come too soon. The youngster impressed for Klopp’s side last season but is yet to feature for Liverpool this season after returning from injury. Wataru Endō has yet to establish himself at Anfield. His first start came at Newcastle, where he was brought on just before the hour, and his other two appearances were from the bench against Bournemouth and Villa.
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But after impressing for Japan in their 4-1 win over Germany at the weekend, he has fallen firmly to Wolves and the prospect of a mini-crisis in defense could be his way out.
Of course, Endō’s strength is as a defensive midfielder, but he has a lot of experience as a central defender. In fact, he played more as a central defender than in midfield during his career.
Although the centre-back has only played two of his 239 games listed on Transfermarkt outside of Japan, with his last game coming in 2020 in Stuttgart, Liverpool’s potential could leave the Reds unable to return. nose up at this experience,
“Wataru is a really good player,” Klopp told the club’s official website after signing the 30-year-old. “I know how it is in the world of football and all that, but look, look, because he is a really good player. Experienced player, captain of Stuttgart, captain of Japan, speaks English well, nice man, host, machine on the pitch, also a good footballer, spectacular attitude so I’m really happy.
He is a good footballer, very experienced and loves to work very hard.”
It has to be said that this should only be a last resort for Liverpool and hopefully Alexander-Arnold can return after leaving England.
If not, Endō could prove why signing a player with his experience and some raised eyebrows in the summer could actually be a shrewd signing.
