FeatureThe view from Japan on Wataru Endo: 'He'll aspire to become a legend in the team'

But what can we expect from Liverpool's new No.3 as a personality?

And how has his move to Anfield been received in his home country, at a time when Japanese football is already on a high following Endo and his international teammates' strong performance at the 2022 World Cup?

"Immediately there was a lot of press coverage when it started to look like it was going to happen," Alan Gibson, who has lived in Japan for more than 34 years and reported on the nation's J.League since its inception in 1993, tells Liverpoolfc.com of the reaction to the transfer.

"There had been interest from other clubs over the last two summers, but nothing came of it, so to suddenly see the Japanese captain turn up at Liverpool, with little build-up, was a pleasant surprise – much-preferred to constant rumours going nowhere!

"For it to be a club as big and as famous as Liverpool, it's really going to be great to see. J.League has seen around 15 of their better players leave for Europe in this transfer window, but they – like Endo did before them – begin their journeys in more humble surroundings, in the hope of eventually emulating their national team captain.

"So, to see him move to a Premier League club that will be fighting for the championship – this overshadows all those other moves."

Gibson, who is originally from Birmingham and is the editor of JSoccer Magazine, adds: "[You will find Endo] acting and speaking humbly.

"He will know that he's not the biggest name at Liverpool, and will never pretend that he is, even though he will aspire to become a legend in the team."

By making his first appearance for the club just a day after the completion of his move, Endo became the second Japanese player to represent Liverpool's men's team.

The midfielder followed in the footsteps of Takumi Minamino – a Premier League, Emirates FA Cup and Carabao Cup winner during his two-and-a-half-year spell at Anfield.

And Gibson predicts a similar spike of interest in a Reds side featuring Endo to that which followed Minamino's arrival on Merseyside in 2020.

"A definite yes," he says. "When established Japanese players leave for a different stage, their new teams always benefit from fans of that player's former club watching to see his progress.

"Liverpool shirts were seen much more often after Minamino went there, and mostly with his name on the back but not necessarily. Japanese fans tend to be drawn to the club first of all, but then become knowledgeable about it and spread their wings a little.

"A lot of these fans would have retained at least a passing interest in Liverpool after Minamino left, so Endo arriving will only increase that interest, while also bringing previous casual fans back into the fold."

Endo linked up with Jürgen Klopp's squad having accrued more than 400 appearances during a club career that began with Shonan Bellmare and then Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan.

His first opportunity in European football came in 2018 when he switched to Sint-Truiden in the Belgian Pro League, before Stuttgart swooped a year later.

In Germany, Endo further enhanced his reputation and popularity among supporters across four seasons with Die Roten, for whom he was appointed captain ahead of 2021-22.

"His bite and tenacity, added to a little malice when necessary – always well controlled – lift him to a higher plane on the field," says Gibson. "I could see this in him even in his early days at Shonan Bellmare, and liked it very much.

"The fans and the media are very proud of the fact that Endo was so successful in Germany. They love their stats, and from tackles won to success in aerial duels Endo excelled in so many of them.

"Previous moves never came to fruition, and having probably three seasons of COVID-affected transfer windows just at the height of his development didn't help.

"I do feel that playing in a team who were fighting to stay in the Bundesliga, as a captain and a player that others relied upon to lead and set examples, will mean that he's learned even more than he would have done if he'd arrived two seasons back.

"I look forward to what he can do at Liverpool very much, and I'm sure he will be seen as a star-in-the-making by the fans and as a loyal servant by the club and his fellow players."