'It was crazy!' - Wataru Endo reflects on Liverpool debut after whirlwind transfer from Stuttgart

Liverpool's new signing Wataru Endo spoke about his debut for the club against Bournemouth on Saturday.

WHAT HAPPENED? The Japanese midfielder made his debut for Liverpool just hours after his international clearance landed on Saturday. The 30-year-old replaced Cody Gakpo in the 62nd minute right after Diogo Jota netted the winning goal for the Reds.

WHAT THEY SAID: Reflecting on his dream debut for the Reds, Endo told reporters after the game, «I only found out three or four days ago there was a chance! It was so so quick. At the beginning of the week I was getting ready to play in the Bundesliga, at the end of the week I am playing here at Anfield in front of all these fans — it is crazy!»

He added, «I understand top clubs want young talent, but you know I just try to (say to myself) ‘this is the only chance you can move to Liverpool because they always try to get younger players. To be honest, I followed Liverpool’s news, that they wanted midfielders they wanted a number six, but yeah — I thought Caicedo had gone to Liverpool.

»So when he went to Chelsea I just thought, maybe, maybe. I thought maybe they needed experienced midfielders or something like that, because Henderson had moved, and also Fabinho had moved to another club, so I thought there may be a chance. It happened so quickly. I had to decide so fast, but actually, I couldn’t say no, because playing in the Premier League was always my dream."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: After missing out on signing Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Liverpool finally signed the Japanese international from Stuttgart for £19 million ($24m). The move left many onlookers surprised, as Liverpool are generally known to sign younger stars and not 30-year-old players.

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