Wataru Endo has officially signed for Liverpool and been handed the No3 shirt at Anfield.
The Reds confirmed a deal worth in the region of £15million on Friday afternoon, having struggled to land a new midfielder all summer.
Jurgen Klopp missed out on both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea after the unexpected departures of Fabinho and long-serving captain Jordan Henderson to clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Liverpool also waved goodbye to the likes of Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the end of their respective contracts as loanee Arthur Melo returned to Juventus, moving quickly early in the summer to land both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
They turned to Endo in a surprise move after being snubbed by Caicedo and Lavia, with the versatile Japan and Stuttgart captain - who can also operate in defence - signing a long-term contract on Merseyside after passing a medical. It is unclear at this stage if he will be able to make his Premier League debut against Bournemouth on Saturday.
“I’m very happy right now and I’m so excited to join a big club in Liverpool,” the 30-year-old, Klopp’s third signing of the summer, told Liverpool’s official website.
“It feels amazing and this is my dream. It’s always [been] a dream to play [in the] Premier League and with one of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s a dream come true for me.
“It’s going to be the first time for me that I play at Anfield. I can’t wait to play at Anfield in front of Liverpool fans.
“I play as a No6 and I’m like a bit more [of a] defensive player. I think I can help this club defensively and I will have good organisation in the middle. I think that’s my job.”
On his latest signing, Liverpool boss Klopp said: “I’m really happy. Wataru is a really good player. I know in this world of football how it goes and stuff like this, but have a look, have a look, because he’s a really good player.
“Experienced player, captain of Stuttgart, captain of Japan, speaks good English, nice fella, family man, machine on the pitch, good footballer on top of that, sensational attitude. So, I’m really happy. He’s a good footballer, very experienced and loves to work extremely hard.”
Endo has been handed the familiar No3 shirt at Liverpool, which had been vacant since Fabinho’s move to Al-Ittihad in a £40m deal last month.
Explaining that choice, he said: “Number three is my number because I played as No3 in Stuttgart and when I was playing in Japan, also. I love this number! I cannot wait to play with this number here.”
