Jordan Henderson’s Season Form Is A Prove Liverpool Were Right To Spend £20 Million To Sign Him From Sunderland Four Years Ago.

Eyebrows were raised in the summer of 2011 when then Liverpool manager and legend Kenny Daglish spent over £20 million on a then 21-year-old Sunderland attacking midfielder Jordan Henderson. Having played in over 71 league games for the Black Cats scoring four goals, the midfielder had the potential to become a better player yet it was his inconsistency to deliver and also lack of input in the final third that scared other clubs from signing him.
In Liverpool, Henderson did not do any better, hence it did not come as a surprise to many when reports had it that Daglish’s successor Brendan Rodgers had accepted Fulham’s offer to move him on him only for the midfielder to decide against the move instead opting to stay back at the Merseyside and fight for his place in a team that had the likes of Steven Gerard and Lucas Leiva at their peak as the first choice central midfielders.
Fast forward to the 2013/2014 season and one is shocked how the former Sunderland player had evolved and almost perfected his game playing 35 league games that season including the 3-2 win over Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City which made them favourites to win the Premier League for the first time. This wasn’t the case at the end as Henderson received his first career red card in the game, earning him a three match suspension as well as well as ruling him out of the season. Liverpool would go on to lose at home to Chelsea as well as losing to Tony Pulis’ Crystal Palace In their last three league games, losing out to City in the process and finishing second for that season.
Henderson was not deterred by that incident as he has seamlessly replaced club legend Steven Gerard in the heart of the Merseyside club’s midfield, sitting deep to intercept and dispossess opponents as well as building up Liverpool’s attack in Jurgen Klopp’s 4-3-3 fluid high pressing football formation. Alongside either two of Emre Can, Adam
Lallana and Georgino Wijnaldum, Henderson has been the rock in midfield this season playing all 17 league games so far. Such has been the midfielder’s form that Lucas Leiva has been moved to central defence whenever Klavan or Joel Matip are unfit.
To illustrate quantitatively, Henderson has completed 1,297 passes with an 88% accuracy (highest in Liverpool), winning 50 tackles (highest in Liverpool) as well as making 31 interceptions (highest in Liverpool). Henderson has also created 27 chances from his deep playing position as well as providing four assists and winning 45% of his duels this season. This is not all as the midfielder has scored one goal which came in the 2-1 win over Chelsea in Stamford Bridge, with his goal awarded Premier League’s September Goal of the Month. Henderson is ideal to Klopp’s philosophy which emphasises energetic pressing, quick counter attack and transition from defence to attack as well as playing with a tactical freedom and fluidity which has seen them second six points behind Chelsea, and also scoring the most goals in the Premier League as well as conceding the most in the top six.
Though it is still too early to predict how this season will end, one thing every fan who has watched Liverpool this season will confirm is that Jordan Henderson is gradually fulfilling his Sunderland promise after struggling in his early years at Liverpool.
Stats powered by Opta.