Wataru Endo is set to undergo a medical at Liverpool on Thursday after the club agreed a fee with Stuttgart for the midfielder.
Liverpool are keen to reinforce their engine room with a defensive midfielder and have launched a surprise move for the 30-year-old, with the Reds having agreed a fee in the region of €19million (£16.2m) for Endo.
The Athletic are reporting that Endo will travel to Merseyside to undergo a medical on Thursday ahead of completing his move to the Premier League, after Stuttgart granted permission for the midfielder to depart for England and finalise a deal.
Endo, who captains both Stuttgart and the Japan national team, operates primarily as a defensive midfielder but has also featured at centre-back.
He has made 99 appearances for Stuttgart since the club’s promotion back into the Bundesliga in 2020 and leads Germany’s top division for possession won in defensive third (254), aerial duels won (219), clearances (175) and headed clearances (105) across the last three seasons, while ranking second for passes completed (3940) and tackles (208).
Sporting director Jörg Schmadtke is understood to be behind the move given his experience of the Bundesliga, with Liverpool having turned to Endo after failed bids for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia. The Japanese midfielder had entered the final 12 months of his contract at Stuttgart.
