Virgil van Dijk admitted he’s been very ‘pleased’ by the manner in which Wataru Endo and his fellow summer arrivals have handled the transition to life at Liverpool Football Club.
The Japanese international, who signed for £16.2m from German outfit Stuttgart (Sky Sports), alongside Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton) and Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern Munich), have all looked increasingly shrewd signings.
“One of the most pleasing things about the season so far is the way that the new players have settled in,” the 31-year-old wrote in his pre-match programme notes (courtesy of liverpoolfc.com).
“Dominik, Alexis, Wataru and Ryan are all different players with different personalities, but each of them in their own way has come into the club and adapted with very little fuss.
“I would like to think that part of the reason for this is that we are a welcoming club, but even if this is the case you still need the individuals themselves to arrive with a positive attitude and a willingness to fit in.
“We’re only in late October now so it is important to remember, though, that no matter how well the new boys have settled in they will still be finding their feet. It is up to the rest of us to keep on giving them whatever support and encouragement they need.
“As individuals and as a group they have already made a positive impression, so long may that continue.”
The former Bundesliga ace certainly proved his worth with a quality performance from the holding midfield role in a 5-1 demolition job against Toulouse in which he personally won 10/15 duels (ground and air), made five tackles and three interceptions, and had a pass accuracy percentage of 96%, according to Sofascore.
We at Empire have already sung the praises of our other aforementioned transfer arrivals, though Endo often appears to be left out in the process.
He’s endured a tricky start to life at Anfield, despite not really putting a foot wrong when appearing on the pitch.
As the prior holder of the No.6 role, Fabinho, can attest – nailing down the slot on a regular basis is easier said than done in the early stages of one’s Liverpool career.
With that in mind, we’d hope the Japanese star isn’t worrying too much about his overall lack of game time.
