Craig Burley has slammed Wataru Endo after the Liverpool midfielder’s performance this weekend in the Premier League against Crystal Palace.
The Japanese international started alongside Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai before coming off in the second half for Joe Gomez at halftime.
It was one of Endo’s worst performances to date since signing for Liverpool this summer for £16m, and speaking on ESPN, Burley was critical of the midfielder’s display.
Whilst the adjustment from the Bundesliga to the Premier League can be a hard one, it’s clear that Endo is in need of more time to make the transition.
Yet for Burley, the pundit believes that the 30-year-old midfielder just isn’t ever going to be up to scratch to compete in England’s top-flight for Liverpool.
Burley said: “Endo is just not getting up to pace with the Premier League. He’s getting caught on the ball, he was caught for the goal that was chalked off, he just looked weak there.”
Liverpool need to keep the faith in Wataru Endo
Endo looked out of his depth this weekend against Palace as the midfielder was rightly hooked off for Gomez come the second-half at Selhurst Park.
Yet whilst it might be easy to write off the former VfB Stuttgart man already, things like this take time, especially when Endo has shown some bright sparks for Liverpool.
The midfielder was influential in the Reds 4-3 win against Fulham last week, and Endo’s leadership and experience is a real asset after a summer where Jordan Henderson and Fabinho both left Merseyside.
The sooner Palace is forgotten about, the sooner Endo can move on and look to hit back with a good performance, one that could come this week in the UEFA Europa League.
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