Bundesliga 2: Japan international Wataru Endo joins Stuttgart from Belgian club Sint-Truiden

Berlin: Japan international Wataru Endo has joined German second division side Stuttgart on a one-year loan deal, the club announced on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_7159301” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Wataru Endo. Reuters[/caption] Endo, 26 arrives on loan from Belgian club Sint-Truiden, whom he joined in 2018 after spells at J-League clubs Shonan Bellmare and Urawa Red Diamonds. “It’s a signing we’ve been working on for a long time. We’ve been following Wataru’s development over a long period. Every club wants to have such versatile players in their ranks,” said Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat. The defensive midfielder won the AFC Champions League with Urawa Red Diamonds in 2017, but will now be scrapping for promotion with Stuttgart, who were relegated from the Bundesliga last season. “Stuttgart are a club with a long tradition and one where a number of Japanese players have played in the past. I want to do my bit to help them return to the Bundesliga,” said Endo. Endo is the fifth Japanese player to play for Stuttgart, following in the footsteps of Shinji Okazaki, Gotoku Sakai, Hajime Hosogai and Takuma Asano.