Liverpool CAN'T find a replacement for Klopp signing and may need to keep him

Liverpool don’t believe they can easily find a replacement for one of Jurgen Klopp’s signings. It might mean he stays beyond this summer.

The Athletic reports that Liverpool rejected an offer from Marseille for Wataru Endo this week. The French club put a little over £10m on the table but the Reds said no.

Now, part of that was the offer - Liverpool would surely want more than that to sell Endo. But there was another reason here.

Liverpool reportedly that there's "a lack of suitable, affordable and available No 6s in the market". In other words, they're struggling to find a decent replacement for Endo and so selling him makes very little sense.

The Japanese star was signed as essentially a last resort in 2023. Liverpool had tried to sign several holding midfielders - going back a few years, actually - but failed on every count.

And so they decided to take a chance on a 30-year-old from the Bundesliga who hadn't generated all that much hype. It was an inspired signing, however, and Endo put in some fantastic spells of form last season.

In fact, he was up there with the best in the league.

Wataru Endo's future

It remains, though, that Endo isn't considered an elite option at Liverpool. He's certainly not a long-term one, given he's into his 30s.

The dream now is that Liverpool don't need to sign anyone because Stefan Bajcetic and Tyler Morton step up into the role. The pair are homegrown talents who show phenomenal potential and they're currently impressing Arne Slot.

Perhaps, then, the fact that there's a lack of good holding midfielders out there isn't a problem as the Reds already have a pair. Both are young enough to make Endo's age a non-factor when thinking to the long-term, too.

That's what we'll hold onto, then. Liverpool may not sign an elite holding midfielder this summer but perhaps they simply need to wait on their own players before they do.