da betway： Jurgen Klopp has sought to explain why Wataru Endo has only played 91 minutes for Liverpool since completing his £19 million ($23m) transfer.

da fezbet： Article continues below

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Midfielder snapped up from StuttgartFierce competition for placesSeeing limited game time as a resultWHAT HAPPENED?

The Japan international midfielder was a shock addition to the ranks at Anfield during the summer window. His arrival came out of the blue, with a deal wrapped up with Bundesliga side Stuttgart that few saw coming.

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Endo faces fierce competition for places in the Liverpool engine room, resulting in him starting just two games across Premier League and Europa League action, and regular game time in the English top-flight is proving hard to come by.

WHAT THEY SAID

Klopp has suggested that the affable 30-year-old may have been too nice for his own good when arriving on Merseyside, with the German coach telling reporters when asked to assess the Japanese star’s start to life with the Reds: “He needs to get used to the things here. 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.

"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.”

(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Endo did figure off the bench for Liverpool as they claimed a 3-1 win over West Ham in their latest outing, but he was introduced in the 88th minute and is struggling to dislodge the likes of Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister from Klopp’s plans.