Liverpool give three reasons after ‘rejecting £11.8m offer’ from Marseille for 2023 signing

Premier League giants Liverpool have rejected a bid from Marseille for Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo, according to reports.

Endo, 31, joined Liverpool from Stuttgart for around £16million last August.

He played 43 times across all competitions as the Reds won the Carabao Cup in Jurgen Klopp’s last season.

The Japanese international was brought in by Klopp for midfield depth following the sales of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, and ended up being a very useful signing.

He grew into his role at Anfield after a relatively slow start – improving every week as he adapted to Premier League football.

Endo has not been linked with a transfer away from Liverpool this summer, however, a bid from French giants has reportedly come in out of the blue.

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Marseille have already completed three signings this summer for around £38m, including Mason Greenwood from Manchester United.

They have been working on a deal to sign Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal, though the Gunners’ £42m asking price means a deal is unlikely .

Attention appears to have turned to Liverpool midfielder Endo, with James Pearce of The Athletic claiming they have made a bid for the former Stuttgart star.

Pearce reports that Marseille have had a 14 million euro (£11.8m) offer rejected by the Reds for Endo.

It is unclear if the Ligue 1 giants are planning a second bid amidst interest from Bundesliga clubs.

The report states the three reasons why Liverpool turned down Marseille’s offer for Endo.

Liverpool aren’t actively looking to move Endo on. The timing of the bid from Marseille, the lack of market opportunities available in terms of recruiting a replacement, and the current needs of Arne Slot’s squad contributed to the offer being turned down.

Reds head coach Arne Slot will likely pursue a replacement should Endo leave but he does have a few options in defensive midfield.

The Dutchman will be boosted by the return of teenager Stefan Bajcetic, who featured against Spanish side Real Betis in a friendly over the weekend .

He also has less natural options in Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister.

Liverpool are back in pre-season action against Arsenal on Thursday morning before facing Manchester United on Sunday.

The Slot era kicked off with a 1-0 defeat to Preston at the AXA Training Centre before beating Betis 1-0 in Pittsburgh.

Liverpool are the only club yet to make a signing in the summer transfer window and are not really being linked with many players.

Slot has admitted that he would be very surprised if they do not sign a single player this summer but it feels like it all depends on sales at this moment in time.

Real Madrid winger Rodrygo and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon have both been linked, though Slot is well stacked up front with the likes of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz.

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