Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp appeared to aim a subtle dig at Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia after the club announced Wataru Endo’s arrival.
On Friday the Reds announced the signing of Endo from Stuttgart for a fee in the region of £16.2million, subject to a work permit and international clearance.
Liverpool secured the 30-year-old Japan international to a four-year contract, after missing out on both Ecuador international Caicedo and Belgian midfielder Lavia to Chelsea.
Caicedo looked poised to join Liverpool after the club agreed a fee with Brighton, only for the defensive midfield to snub the Reds and move to Chelsea for a Premier League record £115million.
To add insult to injury long-time target Lavia also snubbed Klopp’s side for Chelsea, with the Blues confirming his move from Southampton to Stamford Bridge for £58million.
Klopp stressed that he was happy Endo had been keen to join the Anfield club, while he naturally played down the fact both Lavia and Caicedo had snubbed the Mersyesiders.Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of the clash against Bournemouth, Klopp said: “The transfer business is like that. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not.“Last week was a tricky one. You can either stick with the problem or find a solution.”
As seen in the above video, Klopp added, perhaps as a dig at how the Caicedo deal collapsed: “I’m really happy we can announce an agreement [for Endo] with the club and the player, which is really cool.”
Endo, who is Japan captain and was skipper at Stuttgart, said on the move: "It feels amazing. It's always been a dream to play in the Premier League and with one of the biggest clubs in the world. It's a dream come true for me.
"I think I can help this club defensively and I will have good organisation in the middle."
The 30-year-old arrival follows the exits of ex-Reds midfielders Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer.
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