Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo believes he will required as the season progresses and he isn’t the only player to whom Arne Slot will soon turn
Any Liverpool supporters who feared suffering potential withdrawal symptoms after the summer transfer window closed can’t complain their appetite hasn’t been sated during the subsequent six weeks. The ongoing contract impasse regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk has given plenty on which to chew, while the early months under Arne Slot have already prompted talk of imminent exits from the squad.
The player most widely tipped to be next in line to depart has been Wataru Endo given the manner in which the midfielder has tumbled down the pecking order at Anfield this season.
Having been a regular for much of the final two-thirds of the previous campaign after his surprise arrival from Stuttgart last summer, the Japan international has been limited to a combined total of barely 90 minutes this campaign with just one start in the League Cup.
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But when recently asked about his Liverpool future, Endo didn’t seem a player considering an exit any time soon. “A club like Liverpool needs the depth of the squad,” he said. “I have no idea what people are saying about me, but my plan is staying here.”
And while the 31-year-old hasn’t thus far been a beneficiary of the requirement for deep resources, that will soon be about to change. And Slot knows it.
“It’s going to be a long season where you need a lot of players, so if you need a lot of players they also need, once in a while, some playing time,” said the Liverpool head coach earlier last month. “So we are aware of that and that’s also what we take in account when we make a line-up, but it’s not the only thing I take into account.”
Slot has largely resisted rotation in the Premier League so far this season. A change in goalkeeper has been compelled by injury, but there has been only one alteration at centre-back in the opening seven games, none at right-back while the start for Curtis Jones at Crystal Palace last time out was the first time the engine room triumvirate of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai had been broken up.
But the relentless intensity of the English calendar soon became apparent at Selhurst Park for Slot with both Mac Allister and later Alisson Becker picking up muscle problems.
“Maybe this is something the FA should look at, if you play Wednesday evening, why do you have an early kick-off in an away game on Saturday?” said Slot afterwards. “Or should they look at me and I have to rotate all my players? Maybe it’s also bad luck, but it’s not the way we want it.”
Given the difficulty ramps up for Liverpool during the next raft of fixtures, Slot will now have no option but to give more opportunities for fringe players to help them be ready for when they have to start.
And those extra first-team chances are needed. As well as Endo having limited game time this campaign, Conor Bradley has made just one start, Tyler Morton has featured for only eight minutes, Joe Gomez has played even fewer in the Premier League, Jarell Quansah has had one outing since mid-August and Federico Chiesa has had less than 80 minutes of action.
All will be primed to feature in the League Cup fourth round tie at Brighton later this month but with the fixture list relentless after the November international break, they will all surely be required for more than just the occasional run-out sooner rather than later.
Each, such as Endo and third-choice goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros from the bench at Selhurst Park, has shown they can contribute. And if Liverpool are to truly challenge for the major honours this season, those current fringe players will prove crucial.
