In the end, Liverpool might have to take Wrexham’s transfer threat seriously. With the support of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, the Welsh team is dominating the divisions, and executive director Humphrey Ker has identified a Reds player as one of his “dream signings.”
Those who have watched the documentary Welcome to Wrexham may recognize Ker. His devotion to Liverpool is maybe less well-known; he told Front Row Soccer that he was present for the Champions League final in 2005.
His usage of Liverpool players as examples won’t immediately raise red flags at Anfield because of this. But instead of naming a completely unrealistic player like Virgil van Dijk or Mohamed Salah, the Wrexham manager chose a little more realistic transfer target.
Remarkably, Ker described Wataru Endo as a dream acquisition for Reynolds and McElhenney in an interview with Sport Bible last month. The director of Wrexham has been really impressed with what he has witnessed since the Japan captain arrived at Liverpool last summer.
Regarding my personal favorites and the players I would most like to see wearing Wrexham jerseys, who are they? I have a lot of affection for Wataru Endo right now,” Ker said. “Who is somewhat of a perfect representation of the rage that Liverpool felt throughout the summer when they lost out on Lavia and Caicedo and everything seemed hopeless and disastrous.
“And then Wataru Endo is signed, and people start to wonder, ‘Well, who’s this guy? I’m not familiar with him. Why are they playing at this, when he was only 16 million pounds? He was one of the season’s additions after that.
“What are Liverpool doing not spending 100 million on a central midfielder?,” you know, the glitz and glamour, the high price tags—I believe there’s a valuable lesson there for all of us.
“You need to spend your money wisely, you’ve got to find and identify the best players. I don’t know Wataru Endo from Adam but you can see he’s got fantastic character.
“He’s got a fantastic work ethic, you see in the interactions, the pictures and the other players, they clearly all really like him and he’s done an unbelievable job there. So yeah, if money is no object and the player does not particularly mind about moving to North Wales. I’m a big fan of his.”
Ker also mentioned former Liverpool player Neco Williams as an example he often cites as a kind of end-game (no Marvel pun intended) signing for Wrexham. He cited his status as a local boy and Welsh international with Premier League pedigree.
Liverpool.com says: Reynolds can jot Endo down in his notebook. Bizarrely, in a couple of years’ time, it might not be entirely implausible.
Ker jokes about Endo’s willingness to move to North Wales, but if he’s settled in Liverpool, then it really isn’t a major jump. And while he’s still got a big part to play at Anfield for now, he was certainly a veteran signing, and the Reds will probably be open to parting ways within the next two to three seasons.
Wrexham has already targeted older stars like Ben Foster and James McClean, and Endo would really just be the next step up in that strategy. Reynolds’ side will probably need to make it up to at least the Championship before it becomes plausible, but it can’t be dismissed out of hand.
