On 9 June 2011, Sunderland confirmed to the footballing nation that they had agreed an undisclosed fee thought to be worth between £16 and £20 million for the transfer of young British midfielder Jordan Henderson to Liverpool and up to around about January 2013, Kenny Dalglish’s new man just did not seem to be worth what was paid. But oh my hasn’t he stepped up in the past 12 months, so much that the former U21 England captain seems a certainty for Roy Hodgson’s 2014 World Cup squad for the summer tournament in Brazil.
Liverpool have exceeded expectations this season as a club and whilst we can talk about the likes of Sturridge and Suarez, Gerrard, even Sterling and Coutinho until the cows come home, Jordan Henderson has been revitalised both as a footballing professional and as an overall player under Brendan Rodgers in the last 18 months or so and it is clear to see, becoming an integral part of Liverpool’s quite unbelievable but seemingly possible title charge. Jordan has shown the passion, drive and commitment to dominate the midfield in all of the 29 appearances he’s made for the team this year, whilst at least starting to improve his goalscoring from midfield, one of the only remaining attributes he lacks which would make him the complete midfielder no one saw coming. A man of the match performance in the home game against Swansea a few weeks back capped off with two goals including a stunning strike and the goal that ultimately won the game highlighted the 24 year old’s magnificent progress, whilst he also put in a sensational performance in the middle of the park on Sunday in that special win at Old Trafford. To say that he hasn’t missed a Barclays Premier League game this season gives enormous credibility to him as a nurturing talent too.
It seems clear enough that he has a special bond with the skipper Steven Gerrard when playing as it is Jordan who has the legs to pressure, close down and work to win the ball back when defending, whilst being able to press high up the field when attacking and especially counter-attacking; a perfect example of this was the Sterling goal against Arsenal to make it 3-0. It allows the captain to settle into his new role with the confidence that he has someone who will work with him, hence why we are seeing some sublime performances from him too this year. He has that assurance which is key in helping him to help the team play with confidence, something the squad as a whole certainly aren’t lacking at the minute. Alongside these two in the midfield three Brendan plays often (though not of very recent since the switch to the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond) is either Phillipe Coutinho or Joe Allen, and it has been proven that any of these two can work in a combination of Gerrard and Henderson: Phillipe with his technical ability and flair fits perfectly with an excellent passer of the ball and a brilliant workhorse, whilst Joe Allen can keep the ball for days on end when on his game, and he benefits from this duo playing with him too.
To put it in perspective, Jordan has 3 goals, 6 assists and an average pass completion rate of 86.2%, and his post-match on Sunday about moving straight onto the Cardiff game and describing the emphatic win against Manchester United as “just another game” shows just how focused he is on succeeding at the club, and long may that continue.