It was a transfer that did not grab the headlines like Chelsea’s trolley dash for Liverpool targets Moises Caicedo or Romeo Lavia. It was an arrival that did not generate the excitement like World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister or big-money creator Dominik Szoboszlai.
But Wataru Endo’s move to Merseyside is a piece of business that makes sense on a number of levels and the Japan captain says it was a special moment to make his premature debut on Saturday, after he came on to bolster Liverpool’s midfield after Mac Allister’s red card.