VfB Stuttgart icon Hansi Muller has admitted he was left “shocked” by Wataru Endo’s move to Liverpool this summer.
The former midfielder has been speaking to Sport 1 regarding the situation at Stuttgart this summer following several high-profile departures from the squad.
Endo is one of them, having left to join Liverpool in an €18m deal earlier this month as they sought to bolster the defensive midfield position.
The Reds were left short in that area after Fabinho and Jordan Henderson left to move to Saudi Arabia but had been left frustrated in their efforts to do so with Chelsea securing both Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo.
The move was very much a surprise one, with few seeing it coming and the Reds wrapping the matter up quickly to avoid any complications.
And it seems the transfer was as much of a shock at Stuttgart as it was in England, with Müller one of those who didn’t see it coming.
“I was shocked when I heard that Endo was leaving VfB,” he said.
“He was the heart and soul of the team, unfortunately he cannot be replaced one-to-one because he is simply a complete player.
“If a player expresses the desire to fulfil his dream with England, then you can’t keep him by force. He would then have his head somewhere else and that goes wrong.
“There is no talk of a sell-out. VfB also has some newcomers who have not yet been used. They have made forward-looking commitments to compensate for possible departures.”
