Wataru Endo was never the favourite choice when he arrived at Liverpool among the club’s supporters. But he was the favourite among Liverpool’s coaching staff.

It’s taken a little while but over the last month and a half Liverpool fans have now finally been able to see why.

The Japanese player has adapted brilliantly to the demands of the Premier League. In recent weeks he has been one of the best performers on the pitch. And rightfully so, he was voted as the club’s Player of the Month for December.

Few will argue with that selection – Endo has been a linchpin in the side that has now marched to the top of the Premier League table.

And he’s stood-out not just among his Liverpool teammates but statistically among his positional peers in the league as well.

Endo – the best among midfielders

One data where Endo has excelled more than anyone else in the Premier League is through the measure of possession-adjusted interceptions. Wyscout’s statistic measures the average possession of the team and then weights this with the average interceptions made by a player.

And so far this season among midfielders in the league Endo has come out on top. He’s averaged 8.81 adjusted interceptions per 90 which is the best in the league – above second placed Pierre-Emile Højbjerg at 8.42.

These stats probably won’t surprise Liverpool fans too much – Endo has been brilliant at reprising possession for the Reds. But it’s also another reminder of how sorely he will now be missed as he competes in the Asian Cup.

Thankfully, for Liverpool the return of Alexis Mac Allister will be a huge boost – he ranks in sixth place among midfielders in the metric averaging 7.19 adjusted interceptions.

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Liverpool can count one of the biggest players in world football as a supporter.

As one of the most successful clubs in history and now boasting one of the very best managers in the game, Liverpool shouldn’t need any selling to anyone.

And according to journalist Julien Laurens, the charm of the Reds has won over Kylian Mbappe. As he ponders his future at PSG, Mbappe has been heavily linked with Liverpool. Speaking to BBC 5 Live Sport about that very topic last night, Laurens claimed that the 25-year-old ‘really likes’ the Reds. However, Real Madrid are still favourites to sign him.

“I really believe him when he says he hasn’t decided yet if he wants to stay a little bit longer or go somewhere else as a free agent in the summer,” said the French reporter. “Whether that’s Real Madrid, very likely, Liverpool, less likely. But that’s another team that he really, really likes.

“Even if he leaves as a free agent, so with no transfer fee for PSG to receive, the agreement that he has with the club protects PSG and preserves the interest of the club. The bonus that PSG were supposed to pay him at the end of this season whether he was leaving or not will not be paid. He’s going to waive that off. We’re talking around 70 or 80 million Euros.

“You can be very optimistic as a PSG fan and say he hasn’t decided yet, there’s still time for PSG to convince him to stay a little longer. Or the fact that he’s reminding everyone – and I even think this is the first time either he or the club is talking publicly about this agreement that they had last summer – that it says ‘listen, I’m going to leave as a free agent but it’s not a problem because PSG will have that money that they’re not going to pay me with’, to use as a transfer fee if you want.”

Mbappe likes what he sees at Liverpool

Although most supporters hold out zero hope of Mbappe joining Liverpool, this kind of thing is very interesting nonetheless.

Mbappe is a megastar of the sport. Of course, the Reds are a giant of a club, but it’s rare that they bring in players like the France international.

Instead, Liverpool tend to sign those who are on the verge of greatness. Throughout Klopp’s time at Anfield he’s been minded to create superstars rather than buy them.

As a result of that – and mainly because of the costs involved – Mbappe doesn’t fit that model.

But no matter how unlikely it would feel to be, little snippets like this keep on appearing. It isn’t the first time Kylian is reported as being a big fan of watching Liverpool. He’s also previously confirmed that his mother is a supporter, for whatever reason.

Real Madrid still obviously seems like his inevitable next step. For years, it has felt like something akin to destiny that Mbappe would join Los Blancos.

But Laurens knows what he’s talking about. And the journalist is pretty adamant that the PSG forward is yet to fully decide. That would suggest that Liverpool are still in the mix there.

We’d still be absolutely shocked if anything more were to develop between Mbappe and the Reds. But if there’s any way at all that Liverpool can get him to Anfield, then they have to try it. If a player like this is making eyes at you, you make them back.

Ever since the early part of last month, the Reds have been claimed to be on the trail of Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz. Jorg Schmadtke in particular is said to be a big fan of the 18-year-old, and has reportedly recommended him as a signing to Jurgen Klopp.

Well, if Jurgen had his eyes on Juve’s 6-1 thumping of Salernitana last night, then he’ll have seen exactly what Schmadtke is so excited about. As seen in a video posted by Viaplay UK on X, Yildiz underlined his quality with a superb solo goal on Thursday.

Picking the ball up in the left channel around 40-yards from goal, nothing is on for the Turkey international. He soon changes that though, tempting a Salernitana defender towards him before jinking in-between two of them.

That took him into the penalty area, but with three defenders in close vicinity, Yildiz still had a lot to do. No problem for Kenan, as it turned out. The teenager slipped past the final challenge easily, before smashing in with his right foot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. A special goal.

Yildiz shows his quality

Watching this back, you can see why Yildiz is pushing so hard to get into the Juventus first-team.

So far, the youngster has just had glimpses in Max Allegri’s starting XI. With just two Serie A starts to his name, the former Bayern Munich prospect is said to be looking elsewhere for more game time.

If that is what Yildiz wants though, then Liverpool doesn’t feel like the best fit.

As a left-side right-footed forward, he’d be way down the list at Anfield. Luis Diaz may have been struggling a little of late, but he’s still Klopp’s first choice there.

Meanwhile, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo have all played off the left at various points. As a result, it feels unlikely that Liverpool can offer Yildiz what he’s after.

Having scored brilliantly last night, it’s likely that Allegri will now offer him more chances at the Allianz Stadium, anyway.

Even if those chances don’t come Yildiz’s way, Liverpool doesn’t feel like a natural next step.

With goals like this, the young man won’t be short of suitors, though. One heck of a goal from a player who looks destined for big things.

Micah Richards has admitted to being blown away by one Liverpool star ever since last season.

The Reds had a dismal campaign in 2022/23. One or two players aside, the whole of Jurgen Klopp’s squad went off the boil.

However, throughout all the turmoil and turgid displays, Alisson Becker was the man who still stood up to be counted each and every matchday.

Alisson’s form has continued into this season. Liverpool truly do have the best goalkeeper in the world. And speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast today, Richards has agreed that the 31-year-old has been a ‘phenomenal’ presence for the Reds.

“Alisson in the Premier League has been phenomenal,” raved the former Manchester City defender. “Even last season when Liverpool wasn’t playing that well, Van Dijk was injured and getting back to his best, he was the key man every single week.

“The amount of saves he makes for his team, and not just basic saves, we’re talking incredible saves. If we’re talking just the league I’m going to go with Alisson [as the best].”

Richards highlights Alisson contribution

It sometimes feels that outside the halls of Liverpool, Alisson isn’t quite as appreciated as he should be.

Only yesterday, former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes claimed that City’s Ederson is the ‘more complete’ goalkeeper of the two.

Now, Ederson is a very good ‘keeper, there’s no denying that. He’s helped Man City to all sorts of titles and is quite frankly ridiculous with the ball at his feet.

But apart from passing, Alisson beats him in just about every other area.

Perhaps it’s because the Liverpool No.1 makes everything look so simple. Klopp recently commented on how Alisson can make the most difficult saves look exceptionally mundane.

In a world where there are cameras everywhere, this isn’t what wins you supporters amongst the neutrals.

If Ali were flinging himself around to stop shot after shot, no doubt he’d earn more plaudits. But we prefer him the way he is.

We’re obviously biased, but from our point of view there simply isn’t another ‘keeper we’d rather have. We’ve got the best one, and Micah knows it, too.