VfB Stuttgart sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth says the club had 'no choice' but to sell Wataru Endo to Liverpool.

The midfielder made the move to Anfield for a fee of around £16 million in the summer transfer window. Endo was a leftfield recruit at the age of 30, with the Reds' transfer policy to primarily targets players who're still to hit their peak years.

Indeed, Stuttgart were caught by surprise that their captain was wanted by Jurgen Klopp's side. And the Bundesliga had 'no choice' but to agree to the demands set by Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke.

Speaking to BILD (via Sport Witness), Wohlgemuth said: “Wataru is a player that we actually didn’t want to let go.

“To be honest, we didn’t have Liverpool FC on our list as an interested party. We were informed by the players’ advisors about Liverpool FC’s interest a few hours before the offer was received. Wataru himself really wanted to take this step regardless of our offer to extend the contract.

“Because the facts were on the table, we had no choice but to agree with Jörg Schmadtke (Liverpool sporting director) with our revised financial demands. In the end, we came to an agreement relatively quickly in the negotiations.”

Endo has made three appearances for Liverpool so far and will be involved in tomorrow's trip to Wolves.