Wataru Endo's move to Liverpool seemed a little last minute but it turns out that Jurgen Klopp has been high on him for quite some time.
After allowing Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to move on to Saudi Arabia, and having lost out to Chelsea for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Liverpool signed the Japan international from Stuttgart for a fee of £17 million.
He made his first start in the 2-1 comeback win over Newcastle last week but the defensive midfielder had caught the eye of Klopp three years ago.
Liverpool played Stuttgart in a friendly, with the Reds winning 3-0 courtesy of goals from Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and, Rhian Brewster.
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But Endo impressed and Klopp asked his Japan teammate Takumi Minamino how old he was. “How old is that No. 3?” Klopp quizzed the forward, appearing interested in Endo.
At the time, Endo was 27 and in his prime years. But as per Japanese outlet Synchronous, he jokingly told pal Minamino to lie to his manager about how old he was, saying: “Try to say 23 years old!”.
But regardless of how old he is, Klopp clearly still rates Endo as a player and he signed a four-year contract on 18 August.
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He is the second Japanese player to play for the Merseyside outfit and Klopp described him as a "really good one" when the deal was completed.
However, Endo now has further competition in central midfield after Liverpool snapped up Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern in a £34.2 million switch.
And Klopp has admitted that Endo still needs to adjust to Liverpool's way of playing.
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He said: "We're still a counter-pressing team, with a focus on possession, which means you have to be in specific positions. And you can observe instances where he positions himself slightly too deep
"I've had conversations with him, and we will address that. He's eager to get it absolutely right and in training you can see that when the spaces are tighter, he operates like a well-oiled machine."
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Wataru Endo, Liverpool, Premier League, Jurgen Klopp, Takumi Minamino