As Liverpool moves to recruit Mark Gehi, Endo Wataru's position is expected to narrow.
David Okob, a British media outlet that delivers news on Liverpool, said on the 13th (Korea time), `It was reported that Liverpool contacted Gehi in March of this year, and later reached a personal agreement with Gehi. Liverpool is willing to pay up to 30 million pounds (about 56 billion won), while Crystal Palace wants to be close to 40 million pounds (about 74.6 billion won). Negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing and an agreement is expected to be reached, he said.
Multiple media, including the BBC in the UK, are also simultaneously reporting that Liverpool has negotiated to recruit him. The BBC reported that `Liverpool held initial negotiations with Palace this summer to sign England international centre-back Guehi. However, even if the two clubs reach a transfer agreement, it may be necessary to persuade Gehi whether going to Anfield is the right choice for him. It is expected that not only financial factors in personal conditions but also whether or not the time to play is guaranteed will play an important role. He is a regular at Palace, and a steady first-team appearance is a key consideration in the World Cup year. Liverpool are also recruiting 18-year-old center back Giovanni Leoni from Parma as another defender.
Guehi is expected to head to Liverpool because personal negotiations have already been completed and there is not much disagreement between the clubs regarding the transfer fee. Unless another big club suddenly jumps in to recruit Gehi, there seems to be no variable in Gehi's trip to Liverpool.
The news of Guehi's trip to Liverpool is never good news for Japanese soccer fans. This is because it means that Japan's national team captain Endo will go to the bench. Endo was praised for his better-than-expected performance in his first season after joining Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp. His role as Fabinho's replacement was sufficient.
However, with the appointment of Arne Slot, his position rapidly narrowed. Endo's style of play was not the slot manager's preferred defensive midfielder. Endo, who was completely behind in the main competition, was not out of the bench last season. I played 20 games in the league, but only 260 minutes combined. He also played 10 games in the Cup, but failed to start in important games.
In this pre-season, Endo's position has weakened to the point where he plays as a center back rather than a defensive midfielder. Endo went down to center back and played because Liverpool lacked the number of center backs. If Gehi is added to this now, Endo's place to play will disappear altogether. As Liverpool is moving to recruit Leoni as a backup center back, Endo will also drop his position as a center back to fifth place. In other words, it is difficult to play unless there are a large number of injuries.
Even if the national team captain is a big club ahead of the 2026 North American World Cup, Japanese fans will not want to spend time only on the bench.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
