Jurgen Klopp is “pretty sure” Wataru Endo will sign extension to £50,000/week contract in a few years

Wataru Endo has turned out to be a bargain turned star for Liverpool since his move to Anfield as a late alternative to Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo. The 30-year-old has a winners' medal in the Carabao Cup while the Chelsea duo will be regretting moving to London instead of Merseyside.

• Liverpool signed Wataru Endo from Stuttgart for £16 million in the summer transfer window and after a brief adjustment period, he has turned out to be one of the best no.6s as far as being suited to Jurgen Klopp's tactical system is concerned.
• His current contract with the club expires in 2027 so there is no immediate concern over his future but Klopp envisages another Liverpool contract in his future.
• It's safe to say that without Endo, Liverpool's sensational midfield rebuild might not have gone to plan. His reliability at defensive midfield has allowed the creative players in this team to flourish.

Speaking after the final, Jurgen Klopp has predicted Wataru Endo will sign another contract with Liverpool

It's important to preface Klopp's comments by saying that the Liverpool manager is not making an offical announcement about a new contract for Endo.

Rather, he has been so blown away by the midfielder since he joined the club that he believes he will be at Anfield for a long time and could sign a new deal down the line.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Klopp said: "A good development, huh?

"Yeah, I said it a couple of times we were lucky. We bring him in and obviously Wataru, I'm pretty sure in three [or] four years Wataru will sign another long-term contract at Liverpool just because he might be 30 or 31 on his passport but he's not.

"He's a machine. He is footballing-wise exceptional. His defensive brain is outstanding. He gives us a lot of freedom for a lot of things. Yeah, top development. Very helpful, very helpful."

Endo still has three years left on his contract with Liverpool and to be fair, would be 33 or 34 by that point.

After his performance against Chelsea, and how he showed Moises Caicedo a masterclass in the no.6, Liverpool seem to have a genuinely top class player and if he's still as machine-like as he is now in a few years, the Reds should absolutely keep him. He could be the new James Milner.

His current contract is reportedly worth £2.6 million per year. This equates to around £50,000 per week.

£111M for Caicedo? Or £16M for Wataru Endo?

It's no secret that Liverpool wanteed Caceido before they eventually signed Endo instead.

Liverpool reached an agreement with Bright and Hove Albion over a £111 million fee for Caicedo. The midfielder decided to wait for Chelsea, who upped the bid to £115 million to win the battle for his signature. The Blues also won the race for Romeo Lavia at £55 million.

In response to this double blow, Liverpool signed Endo from Stuttgart for £16 million and Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich for £31 million. The latter was fouled out of the Carabao Cup final by Caicedo, needing to be stretchered off and was seen on crutches with a moon boot during the trophy celebrations.

Endo was almost fouled out of the game by Caicedo (again) but, true to his warrior nature, he battled on. He too was spotted on crutches and in a moon boot after full-time but there are hopes that it's just a pre-caution.