I saw £15m player potentially save his Liverpool career after the performance he put in against Southampton

Arne Slot experimented with several players in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Southampton and their £15 million star showed he may be able to fill a key role for the Reds.

Liverpool booked their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a closely fought-victory over Southampton. Harvey Elliot and Darwin Nunez fired the Reds into the final four of the competition with second-half strikes.

One player, in particular, caught the eye as he featured in an unnatural position and may have just put himself in contention to feature there more often under Arne Slot.

Wataru Endo’s impressive performance vs Southampton

Wataru Endo played as a central defender in Liverpool’s win over Southampton and the midfielder really impressed. The Reds have been left short in defence and have struggled to find a replacement for Ibrahima Konate.

Slot’s team have struggled to hit quite the same heights they were before the Frenchman’s injury. Joe Gomez and Jarrel Quansah have both been trialled alongside Virgil van Dijk but neither have managed to make an impression.

But step forward Endo who was excellent at St Mary’s as he produced a very strong showing in a makeshift backline. The Japanese international was so calm in the unfamiliar role and looked like a player who had featured there countless times before.

Slot has already expressed his admiration for Endo and the £15M man’s display against the Saints will leave the boss questioning whether he could be the solution to his Van Dijk partner.

During the match, there was an incident where Liverpool fans were left fuming with the referee who failed to blow the whistle despite Endo going down with a blow to the head.

What Arne Slot said about Wataru Endo vs Southampton

Slot hailed Endo’s performance against Southampton claiming that his ability to play in an unfamiliar role shows his impressive quality and mentality. The Dutch coach was super impressed by the performance of the former Bundesliga star.

When asked about the midfielder in his press conference after the match, Slot told the media: “In a different position, playing such a good game like this shows what a quality player he is, but also what his mentality is like.”