Jurgen Klopp comes to defence of Wataru Endo after slow start

Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Wataru Endo needs more time to settle into his new surroundings after a difficult first month at Liverpool.

Summer recruit Endo has featured a handful of times for the Reds so far, however has looked largely off the pace, struggling to deal with the step up in intensity from the Bundesliga to the Premier League.

The signing of Endo came to fruition after two deals for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia collapsed for the Reds, forcing them to turn to the Stuttgart captain, an obvious Jorg Schmadtke wildcard.

While clearly not Liverpool's first choice to fill the void left by Fabinho, Endo was nevertheless adored at his former club for his gutsy performances, branded as a 'warrior' by devastated Stuttgart fans after it was revealed their no-nonsense skipper was Anfield-bound.

And now, Klopp has come to Endo's defence, asserting that he Japanese midfielder will in time play a vital role for Liverpool this season.

"He needs to get used to the things here," Klopp said in his post-match press conference.

"Wataru is a super guy, very calm and very polite and that cost him the first two weeks, maybe. That’s now getting there.

"He is not 30 or whatever and wants to get some people out of the way to get into the team, but he is improving every day. You saw that today, he is there, he will help us a lot, he will play games, he will start games and all these kinds of things.

"It’s all good, he had already three or four games now for us in a very short period. That is what counts, it is not a short-term project. Wataru is a super-important part of the squad and I am really happy to have him."