Liverpool's Cup Win Highlights Frimpong and Endo's Uncertain Futures
Liverpool moved into the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, but the real story at Anfield was not the scoreline. It was the pecking order. And for two senior players, it made grim reading.
Andoni Iraola rang the changes – ten of them from the side that drew with Fulham – and treated the tie against Tottenham as an X-ray of his squad. Fringe players, academy prospects, summer investments: all under the lights, all under scrutiny.
Some grabbed the chance. Others simply reminded everyone why they are on the fringes in the first place.
Frimpong Targeted, Exposed, and Left with Questions
Jeremie Frimpong’s selection at right-back should have been a platform. Iraola loves adventurous full-backs, and the Dutchman arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 for £30m with a reputation for exactly that.
Instead, it became another uncomfortable night in a red shirt.
While Liverpool’s youngsters – Trey Nyoni, James McConnell, Lewis Koumas – played with the freedom of players with everything to gain and little to lose, Frimpong looked like a man weighed down by expectation. Going forward, he offered almost nothing of note. The overlaps were hesitant, the delivery predictable. For a manager who builds so much of his attacking structure through the full-backs, that is a serious problem.
Defensively, Spurs sensed weakness and went after it. They repeatedly worked the ball into his channel, isolating him against Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus and Omar Marmoush. Time and again, Frimpong struggled to contain them. Over 90 minutes, his flank became the most inviting route into Liverpool territory.
This is not a one-off. Since his arrival, Frimpong has failed to convince large sections of the fanbase, drawing heavy criticism last season and again in the early weeks of this one. The contrast with Ronald Araujo is stark. The Uruguayan, now clearly Iraola’s first-choice right-back, brings defensive assurance and a more balanced profile. Conor Bradley’s impending return from injury will only tighten the squeeze.
Right now, Frimpong is viewed internally and externally as one of the weakest links in the squad. That is a brutal label for a £30m signing in a team still searching for someone to replicate even a fraction of what Trent Alexander-Arnold offered before his move to Real Madrid.
Liverpool’s recruitment team may have imagined Frimpong as part of the solution at right-back. On this evidence, he is fast becoming another reason they might need to go back into the market.
Endo Frozen Out as Youth Steps Ahead
If Frimpong’s performance raised doubts, Wataru Endo’s night raised something more definitive: the sense that his Liverpool story is almost over.
This was the kind of fixture that usually throws a lifeline to experienced squad players. Ten changes. A home tie. A manager openly rotating and rewarding training-ground work. Yet Endo, 33, did not start. He did not even come off the bench.
He watched as McConnell, 22, and Nyoni, 19, were trusted from the first whistle in midfield. He watched as senior midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai began on the bench but still sat ahead of him in the hierarchy. He watched a game that screamed “opportunity” for players in his situation – and saw it pass him by.
This comes just days after another blow: exclusion from Liverpool’s 25-man Champions League squad, along with Federico Chiesa, while the likes of McConnell and Nyoni made the cut.
Iraola has not tried to disguise the reality. Speaking recently, he admitted that Endo is simply behind too many others in his position.
“The problem is, in front of him in his position, I have a lot of players,” the Spaniard said. “He’s competing against a lot of players because we are also giving minutes to Trey (Nyoni), Ryan (Gravenberch), Alexis (Mac Allister), Dom (Szoboszlai), players that I am selecting right now. But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments.”
The words are polite. The team sheet is ruthless.
Endo impressed as an emergency centre-back against Como in pre-season, hinting at a possible utility role, but he has not been used there since. He has been an unused substitute in all four Premier League games so far. Now, even a heavily rotated EFL Cup tie cannot find room for him.
If a player of his age and contract status cannot get minutes in this context, when exactly will those “moments” arrive?
His deal runs out at the end of the season. With so many midfielders clearly ahead of him and his Champions League omission underlining the club’s view, the January window looks like Liverpool’s final realistic chance to recoup any of the £16m they paid.
The conclusion is hard to avoid. Iraola does not fancy him. Endo needs football. Liverpool need space and clarity in a crowded midfield.
An exit in a few months’ time is no longer just a logical outcome. It feels inevitable.
Liverpool’s win over Tottenham kept their cup campaign alive. For Frimpong and Endo, it did something else: it stripped away any illusions about where they stand. The competition is fierce, the manager is decisive, and at Anfield this season, reputations will not protect anyone.
