Liverpool set to discover if Moisés Caicedo ‘Plan B’ worked as $20m transfer enters crunch time
Liverpool had a successful summer and has so far looked good this season. But Jürgen Klopp is now set for a proper test of his squad depth in the coming weeks.
With two matches a week now until 2024 at least (and potentially beyond if Liverpool can beat West Ham United in the Carabao Cup), the true extent of Jürgen Klopp’s squad depth is set to be fully tested. With five players currently out injured, the Reds are missing some key men, but should still have enough to continue winning.
Having already topped its Europa League group with a game to spare, Liverpool will be able to rotate heavily against Union SG in Belgium and keep players fresh, but this week, for instance, there are three games to play in seven days. Matches against Fulham, Sheffield United and then Crystal Palace all need to be won if the Reds are to continue to prove their Premier League title credentials.
That leaves little margin for error in terms of team selection. Later in the month, the aforementioned West Ham cup tie is sandwiched between Manchester United and Arsenal in the league. While all three matches are at Anfield, it shows that the tough weeks and the congested schedule are here to stay.
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Among the players that will need to step up is Wataru Endō. Signed from the Bundesliga for a fee of $20m (£16m/€19m), the 30-year-old captain of Japan has been a rotation player so far this season. That will likely always be the case for him at Anfield, but the games he is set to be rotated into shortly are set to be trickier.
With Liverpool having failed to land Moisés Caicedo in the summer, former clubmate Alexis Mac Allister is the number one option in the number six position for Liverpool, but he cannot play three times in a week. Liverpool would be risking far too much by overplaying the Argentine. Curtis Jones could play as the holder or Ryan Gravenberch or Dominik Szoboszlai could drop back to form a double pivot in a slightly altered system, but Endō is the natural understudy.
The ex-Stuttgart man has played in the Europa League most often this season and has impressed at times, but the task of facing Sheffield United away midweek will be very different from leisurely outings like the one against LASK. The Austrian side offered next to nothing in terms of attacking threat or defensive intensity.
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Under the lights at Bramall Lane, things will be very different on Wednesday. Liverpool and Endō will have to be ready and Paul Heckingbottom’s side will be far more direct and physical. Perhaps that mouthguard might come in handy.
While it will be a challenge, there is no reason to believe that Liverpool’s squad depth is not up to scratch. As well as Endō, the likes of Harvey Elliott and Joe Gomez will be eyeing the chance to play more regularly. Having Conor Bradley back from injury after the Northern Irish right-back returned midweek could be useful too.
But for Endō — a player, like Szoboszlai and Gravenberch, who is used to having time off around the turn of the year, as is the case in Germany, rather than that being the busiest period of the calendar — this is the perfect time to show that the decision to bring him in when moves for Caicedo and Roméo Lavia fell through was the right one.
We have already seen how useful Endō has been this season in the Europa League, but Liverpool will be hoping to avoid being there again in the future and is currently on track to return to the Champions League. The next few weeks will show whether Endō is the right squad man for beyond this campaign when it looks likely that the Reds get back into Europe’s top tier.
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