Waturu Endo admits he was “surprised” by his £16 million summer move to Liverpool after almost giving up hope of leaving Stuttgart.
The 30-year-old became Liverpool's third summer signing in mid-August following the departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia.
Endo follows Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai through the Anfield portal and bolsters the Red Devils' midfield following the departures of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita earlier in the summer.
Endo signed a four-year contract with Merseyside and made his debut as a substitute in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth. He made his first appearance a week later, when Liverpool beat Newcastle 2-1. In total, Endo made 11 appearances for Liverpool, scoring once in the Europa League against Toulouse.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Endo opened up about his move and revealed that he did not expect to join the Red Devils. He said, "I think I still have a chance to talk to a team. I'm not young, but all the best teams can sign young players in the first place, but if they don't have the opportunity to sign young players, perhaps they want experienced players.
"It was something I thought about this summer, and it actually happened. I was a bit surprised. I really wanted to move but it was the end of August, and I was like, maybe I don't get the chance. I was a bit surprised."
After an impressive debut, Endo's second appearance against Newcastle proved to be a whole lot tougher. Although Liverpool had to play for more than an hour with 10 men following Virgil van Dijk's red card, they rallied to come from behind to win 2-1 thanks to Darwin Nunez's late brace.
Having played the previous three years in the Bundesliga at Stuttgart, Endo outlined the key differences between the German top flight and the Premier League.
“Everything is different: body type, technique, speed,” Endo added. “It's the Premier League. Since I do not play in the Premier League very often, I had a really tough time in the match against Newcastle. The pace is very fast; everything is different.”
Wataru Endo
Liverpool are next in action when they travel to Luton on Sunday, as they aim for a fifth consecutive win in all competitions. Speaking ahead of that match, Klopp said in his pre-match press conference: “I've heard about it [Kenilworth Road], I haven't seen it
. "One ground I haven't been to before I'm looking forward to it. I heard the dressing room isn't massive. All I need is a pitch, an opponent and us there. It's exciting, I love the story."