‘Different’… Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool have a player who really gives them something unique

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Jurgen Klopp has praised the ‘different’ qualities that Wataru Endo has brought to Liverpool.

Endo was a surprise signing when he joined from Stuttgart during the summer. Since then, the 30-year-old has had some mixed reviews, as he settles into life at a top club.

But all the while, Klopp’s faith in his new No.3 has been evident. The manager has publicly praised Endo on more than one occasion this season and during his pre-Arsenal press conference yesterday, Jurgen was at it again.

“We see him every day in training, he is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met,” raved the Liverpool boss. “It was always clear that he will be good. But I’m obviously happy for him that the public could see it now as well.

“It was a really good game [against West Ham] and he gives something different to the team, we have to say that, it’s clear. He’s the one for the tackles. We don’t have 20 players on the pitch who have tackling as a hobby, but he’s doing it.

“On top of that his passing is really good, his awareness is really good, he finds his position better in possession and all of these things. It’s football, it takes a little bit of time, but that’s no problem for me.”

Klopp backs tough-tackling Endo

Although Endo is still yet to fully convince the whole of the Liverpool fan base, it’s been nice to see the improvement in his game of late.

The Japan captain still looks half a second slow to react on occasion. But by and large, Endo does seem to be getting to grips with what Klopp wants from him.

Part of the reason for that is undoubtedly the former Stuttgart man’s work ethic. Endo seems to be a really smart footballer who analyses his own game in detail.

You can imagine he’s an attentive trainer who won’t need telling too many times what is expected of him.

One thing that doesn’t necessarily need too much work in training for Endo is his tackling.

As Klopp points out, Liverpool are not currently blessed with a big amount of natural tacklers in the squad. As a No.6, this is part and parcel of Endo’s game.

He’s certainly not afraid of jumping in for a duel. As per Fotmob, Wataru has won 1.62 tackles per 90 in the Premier League this season, which puts him in in 71st percentile of players in the division. With a 73% win-rate in those tackles, he’s one of the most efficient in the division.

Endo’s duels could still do with work, the Japanese’s figure of 43% of duels won per 90 minutes isn’t as good as it could be. Nevertheless, after seeing Fabinho struggle to put a challenge in last year, it’s nice to have someone who’s willing to go into a good old fashioned 50/50 again.