Endo was warmly welcomed by his teammates during his debut for Liverpool.
Debuting for a new club, particularly one as significant as Liverpool, can be an anxiety-inducing experience. However, Liverpool exhibited heartening support for their new signing Wataru Endo as he entered the field to make his mark.
The Japanese international was secured by the Merseyside-based club for £16.2 million and substituted Cody Gakpo just after the hour mark in their match against Liverpool, marking his Premier League debut.
After missing out on securing Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, both of whom opted to join Chelsea rather than Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp directed his focus towards Endo as a reinforcement for the midfield.
The 30-year-old has been brought in to inject some defensive tenacity into a midfield that lacks it.
Before his prominent transfer, Endo had accumulated 133 appearances for his former club VfB Stuttgart, which encompassed 33 Bundesliga matches from the previous season. He stood out as a beacon of excellence in a challenging campaign for the club.
Klopp undoubtedly desires his latest acquisition to wield a similar impact for Liverpool. The German manager envisions this season as an opportunity to reestablish Liverpool as top-four contenders.
Evidently, the current Liverpool squad recognizes the pivotal role that Endo will undertake in this campaign. They made sure to extend him abundant support before he stepped onto the Anfield turf for the first time.
You can view the wholesome clip below…
Watch: Liverpool players comfort Wataru Endo before he makes his debut
Love how so many were so encouraging to Endo on his Debut, things like this go a long way to a teams atmosphere
— ⁴ (@TheVVDRole) August 22, 2023
Liverpool supporter@TheVVDRoleposted the clip to his Twitter feed, and it has since gone viral as the fanbase are relishing the fact that a sense of togetherness and belonging surrounds the club.
Coming onto the pitch as the nervous Anfield faithful looked on after sealing their third goal is not the ideal time for Endo to make his first impressions considering he wasn’t able to receive the entire crowd appreciation a player typically would receive on their debut.
However, as he readied himself to finally prove his worth, a flurry of players were on hand to rally around their new recruit.
On the side-lines, Klopp can be seen offering a series of instructions given wholesale changes to their approach was imminent upon his introduction, while Stefan Bajcetic gave him a tap on his back to show his support, too.
Andy Robertson came over to also give Endo an embrace alongside a few words of encouragement as he geared up to replace Gakpo with shy of 30 minutes remaining on the clock.
When making his first steps as a Reds player, goalscorer Diogo Jota and captaincy duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk were also present to gear up the former Stuttgart ace.
