EXCL: Thoughts on surprise Wataru Endo deal, would Ivan Toney fit in at Liverpool, and was Mason Mount a bullet dodged?

This week's Liverpool transfer news column.

Thoughts on Endo’s arrival at Liverpool

It is fair to say that despite it being an open secret that Liverpool have been looking for a defensive midfielder, few of us expected them to land upon Wataru Endo as the man to replace Fabinho!

Jurgen Klopp even admitted that Fenway Sports Group, the club’s owners, needed a bit of persuading before signing the Japanese international, who at 30 years of age falls well outside of the Reds’ usual policy of targeting younger, up and coming players.

Liverpool, we know, missed out on two those in Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, and my understanding is that it was Klopp and sporting director Jorg Schmadtke who pushed for Endo’s signing, once it became clear that Caicedo and Lavia were heading for Chelsea.

There is a lot of Bundesliga knowledge at Anfield, and there was also a feeling that the remaining options in the transfer market were either not good enough or too expensive - and in some cases both, hence Liverpool readjusting their sights and going after Endo.