Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo shares what Arne Slot wanted to speak privately with him about recently

Although Liverpool are flying at the moment, it has not been an easy season for everyone at Anfield.

The Reds are having something of a dream campaign, sitting nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Plenty of the credit for the way Liverpool have kicked on this term is owed to Arne Slot.

The Liverpool head coach has succeeded Jurgen Klopp in a way that few thought was possible.

However, while Slot has improved players such as Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Diaz, he has also used several players far less than Klopp ever did.

One who has struggled for game time so far has been midfielder Wataru Endo. But according to Endo himself, Slot has still been attentive to him at the Liverpool training ground.

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Wataru Endo reveals Arne Slot talks

Endo has played just 20 minute of Premier League football this season.

That those minutes have been spread out across six different games really illustrates how little Slot has used the Japan national team captain.

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Nevertheless, Slot spoke highly of Endo after Liverpool’s win over Southampton in November.

And asked about the Dutchman’s words of encouragement on Red Machine – The Wataru Endo Podcast, the 31-year-old says Slot reiterated his words privately, too.

READ MORE: Wataru Endo names former Liverpool and West Ham player as his footballing hero

“I’ve talked with him, he told me the same thing he said in that interview,” Endo reveals. “So, I think that’s what I needed to do at the moment and I’m so grateful that he knows that I always try to work hard on the pitch.

“It’s good that he came to me to talk about that. To play for Liverpool is not easy, so the manager told me that we needed everyone.”

Endo set for January transfer?

While Slot has clearly been impressed to a degree over Endo, it’s also obvious that the Dutch coach does not see the former Stuttgart man in his long-term plans.

There have been reports that Endo may leave Liverpool in January and it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise to see that be the case.

Rousing The Kop understands that if the Reds are to make a sale mid-season, then Endo is the player who is most at risk.

It’s understood that Slot would be more open to the sale of Endo than another rarely used midfielder, Tyler Morton.

Nevertheless, RTK understands that Liverpool are not actively looking to sell their No.3 and are currently planning ahead with him onboard for the full season.

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