Wataru Endo makes defiant Liverpool claim as excitement builds in Japan

Wataru Endo was caught in a whirlwind almost as intense as the one that first brought him to Liverpool.

Having been thrown in at the deep end shortly after his surprise and swift arrival from Stuttgart, the Japan international spent the majority of his first two Reds performances in a side reduced to 10 men.

Such circumstances were hardly conducive to helping the 30-year-old adapt to his new surrounds after exchanging the Bundesliga for the Premier League, a culture shock that has caught many a player unaware.

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Recent evidence, though, suggests Endo is coming to terms with life in a Jurgen Klopp midfield. After an encouraging showing against Leicester City in the League Cup last week - his pass teed up Dominik Szoboszlai's thunderbolt strike - Endo once again impressed during a 45-minute showing in the Europa League win over Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday.

That he joined Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez in being replaced at half-time in a pre-arranged substitution hinted heavily the Japanese could be given the nod in the number six role when Liverpool visit Brighton on Sunday afternoon.

And the importance of his contribution to the Reds was underlined during an early conversation with his new manager.

"It was a surprise for Liverpool fans for me to come here, but the manager knew me very well as a player," says Endo. "That was a very important thing to me.

"After I first came here I have had some conversations with him. The manager told me that he had known of me when I was at Stuttgart. And he told me 'we are so offensive as a team, we need a number six, a