Liverpool have turned down Marseille’s approach for the services of Japanese defensive midfielder Wataru Endo.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Marseille were keen on signing Wataru Endo from Liverpool this summer. The Ligue 1 giants even approached the Reds for his services a few weeks ago, but they were not interested in negotiating the Japanese international’s exit.
Endo was playing for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga before he made the move to Liverpool last summer. The Reds were in desperate need of bringing in a defensive midfielder. While they had other targets in mind, things did not work out as planned, and they ended up signing the 31-year-old.
In his debut campaign at Anfield, Wataru Endo was involved in 43 matches and he even contributed towards three goals. While the 2023 signing wasn’t one of their star signings from last summer, he surely did his bit.
Marseille had approached Liverpool for Wataru Endo
While the Reds are on the lookout for a young defensive midfielder, they are in no rush to part ways with the Japanese midfielder, who still has three years left on his deal. Marseille did knock on their doors to test their resolve, but the Reds have turned down their approach for Wataru Endo.
Marseille have been quite busy in the ongoing transfer window. The Ligue 1 giants have already made some star signings, and Endo could have been one of them as reported by Romano. The Italian transfer expert has suggested that Les Phoceens approached Liverpool for their defensive midfielder before they signed Ismael Kone and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for that role.
They were looking to sign Wataru Endo in a deal worth around €14 million. But, their approach was turned down as Liverpool considered him to be an important part of their squad under Arne Slot. Even if they do bring in a new defensive midfielder, the Japanese international is expected to continue at the club.
The deal for the former Stuttgart midfielder collapsed weeks back, and Marseille are currently focused on signing players for different positions having already strengthened their midfield by adding Kone and Hojbjerg to their squad.
