Liverpool FC writer Neil Jones has admitted that summer signing Wataru Endo is a level or two below Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo in that area of the pitch.
Jones, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, took a look back at Caicedo ultimately snubbing Liverpool to join Chelsea in the summer, even though at one point it looked like he could be making the move from Brighton to Anfield.
The Ecuador international looked superb at Brighton and is starting to settle at Stamford Bridge now as well, so one imagines many Liverpool fans would gladly have taken him over someone like Endo in the summer.
While Jones is impressed with how Endo has done, in what has generally been a strong rebuild in midfield for Liverpool, he suspects there’ll be some tinge of regret from Jurgen Klopp that the Caicedo deal ended up falling through.
Jones also suggested that, given how things have gone for Liverpool and Chelsea this season, Caicedo himself may also question if he made the right decision.
“Caicedo, though, would have added so much to this Liverpool side, and I’d be amazed if Klopp didn’t feel at least a tinge of regret about the Ecuadorian’s decision to move to Stamford Bridge instead of Anfield. Wataru Endo might be doing OK, but he’s a level or two below Caicedo, and a fair bit older as well,” Jones said.
“The key for Liverpool, I guess, is that they were able to overcome their disappointment at missing out on both Caicedo and Lavia, and that they have made the most of a potentially tough situation. Alexis Mac Allister is a fine signing who will get better, as is Dominik Szoboszlai, while Ryan Gravenberch’s potential is huge as well.
“Perhaps the more pertinent question is whether Caicedo looks at the respective situations of Liverpool and Chelsea, and wonders whether he made the right call back in August? He’d probably say he did, but the Premier League table tells a different story right now…”