VfB Stuttgart signed Wataru Endo in August 2019, initially on loan. They made his move from STVV permanent in April of this year, thanks to a clause in the temporary agreement.
The midfielder helped the club achieve promotion to the Bundesliga and hasn’t looked out of place early in the season. Bild say he plays like a ‘vacuum cleaner’, cleaning up dangerous situations in front of his club’s defence.
A Japanese international, the 27-year-old is in the peak of his career, and still has dreams about a move to England. Bild state Endo has ‘always loved Chelsea’ and they quote him as saying: “The Premier League is my dream.”
Aside from the added status of English football, Endo has another motivation to make his dream come true. His father hasn’t yet travelled from Yokohama to watch him play.
Endo explained: “My father called me and said: If you play in the Premier League, I’ll come to the stadium.”
Bild go some way to talking up the midfielder’s level, and they quote Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo as saying: “It is currently impossible to imagine our game without him. He is our linchpin.”
It’s a long way from there to catching Chelsea’s eye, but there’s no harm in having a dream and if Endo continues to be such an important player for Stuttgart then there’s a good chance he’ll get a chance at English football… and for his father to come and watch him.
