'How good he was': Arne Slot raves about £16m Liverpool player after five-minute cameo vs Palace
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Liverpool battled to a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds have been brilliant at picking up results so far this season and that continued with another three points on the board in South London.
But despite the joy at Liverpool making it six wins out of seven in the Premier League, the Reds were certainly not at their best for much of the game.
The first-half was dominant and Liverpool should have been leading by more than a single Diogo Jota goal.
But after the break, the Reds retreated further and further as Palace began to get a foothold. In need of something different, Arne Slot turned to his bench to help see the game out.
Arne Slot impressed by Wataru Endo impact
Liverpool made an early substitution on Saturday as Alexis Mac Allister was withdrawn at half-time.
Slot confirmed after the game that Mac Allister has picked up a knock and needed to be replaced by Dominik Szoboszlai.
Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch then formed a new-look Liverpool midfield before Wataru Endo was introduced in the final minute of normal time.
It was just a small cameo for Endo, but speaking in his post-match press conference, Slot said that what he saw from the Japanese had left a big impact on him.
“I think that's one of the most positive things I see in this team,” said the Liverpool head coach.
READ MORE: Why Arne Slot has been proven completely wrong about Wataru Endo
“That even if a player comes in five to seven minutes – such a big player, captain of his country coming in five minutes before the end – I sometimes at certain clubs or certain other teams I see then a player coming in a bit like, 'You only use me for five or seven minutes?'
“But if you look at how Wata came in – how good he was on the ball but also the second balls he won – he had only in these seven minutes a very good impact.
I think that tells you a lot about the team cohesion but definitely also about the person – in this situation, Wata,” added Slot.
“That with only playing five minutes he gives that performance, that says a lot about him as a person but also a lot about the team cohesion.”
Bundesliga clubs looking to sign Wataru Endo
While Endo’s cameo did display exactly what you can expect from his all-action style, it did also highlight just how little Slot is using him right now.
The 31-year-old is very clearly a back-up at the moment and it’s slightly damning that Slot waited until the 89th minute to use his only natural defensive midfield option when needing to close a game out.
It’s that kind of thinking which lends credence to reports that Endo could be sold in January.
The No.3 may go in search of more regular game time and there are said to be a number of Bundesliga sides queuing up to sign Endo already.
As he showed once again, though, Liverpool would be taking a gamble by letting Endo go. First choice he may never be, but the £16m man is a superb option to have.
