"World class" title winner commits to Liverpool next season with 32-word statement

Liverpool are set to sanction a number of player exits this summer as they look to make room - and raise funds - for new arrivals at Anfield.

Jeremie Frimpong is expected to complete a move imminently while the Reds are advancing with deals for Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz as they look to seal those moves early in the summer. Arne Slot and his squad will return for pre-season on July 8 and the Dutchman would ideally like to see his transfer targets through the door as quickly as possible.

While the current excitement focuses on transfer incomings, there are a number of players linked with the exit door this summer. Caoimhin Kelleher has been the subject of an approach from Brentford while Leeds United and West Ham United are also interested.

Darwin Nunez, Kostas Tsimikas and Luis Diaz are other names who could leave although when it comes to the Colombian, Liverpool will not let him go cheaply.

Wataru Endō wants to stay at Liverpool

Another player who has been linked with a possible exit is midfielder Wataru Endō. The Japan captain lost his starting place to Ryan Gravenberch this season but as the campaign wore on, he was more trusted by Slot as he made several appearances off the bench.

The 32-year-old joined the Reds two years ago and has helped see games out this season with his tough-tackling and committed style endearing him to Liverpool supporters. He is under contract until the summer of 2027 and has expressed a desire to remain at Anfield next season.

He told Abema TV: “I think I’ll be at Liverpool next season. If I have the chance to play for Liverpool, would I really want to throw that away and move to another team? I wouldn’t.”

Jurgen Klopp hailed Endo as world class - and now Arne Slot is seeing his value

Liverpool turned to Endo during the 2023 summer transfer window after deals collapsed for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. He was a stand-out in his first season under Klopp. Late into the 2023-24 campaign, Klopp heaped the praise on the midfielder as he argued the Japan international developed into a world-class player at Anfield.

He said: “What can you expect? That you sign a 30-year-old captain of Japan and he will be a standout player in the Premier League? That he would be a good player, we knew, but what he’s making of that role, together with Macca [Alexis Mac Allister], or then with Dom [Szoboszlai] or then with Harvey [Elliott] – by the way, what a game he played…You never know that people can develop to world class, but that’s what happened.”

With Klopp’s departure, Endo’s role became bit-part under Slot. He started just one game but became more and more utilised as the season wore on, helping to see out victories.

“I think Wata has been really useful for us this season,” Slot said earlier in the campaign. “It’s not always a matter of how many minutes you play, you can be very important in two minutes and you can be less important in 90 minutes. What makes Wata special, in my opinion, is every time we have to rely on him – if it’s five, 10, 20 or 25 minutes – he shows up.”