Steven Gerrard has given his verdict on Jordan Henderson after signing the midfielder from Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the summer of 2023.
The former Liverpool and England international midfielder has noted what makes Henderson such a good player for his Al-Ettifaq FC team.
So, what has Steven Gerrard said about former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson? Let’s take a look.
What’s the story?
Well, Liverpool sold Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq FC in the summer transfer window.
The 33-year-old is working under his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard in Saudi Arabia.
Liverpool legend Gerrard is the manager of Al-Ettifaq FC now. The former England international midfielder has outlined the reasons why he signed Henderson.
Gerrard said on Saudi Pro League channels, as transcribed by 90min: “Myself and Jordan, we have that trust. We played together and he’s a fantastic player still, a fantastic human being. For us, to execute that signing was key and very important and I think a lot of the other signings we made came on the back of Jordan agreeing to come here.
“I think he wanted to still play, I think that was the key. He was at Liverpool at the time, he’s had a fantastic career, he’s achieved everything at that club, he’s been a fantastic servant to Liverpool Football Club.
“But I think in the previous months, maybe him not being a regular starter in the team, when you get to that age, I’ve been there myself under Brendan Rodgers when, you’re the captain, you play all the games, then all of a sudden you’re on the bench or you’re not getting as many minutes as you’d like, and that’s when you analyse and think about a different challenge.
“And when we knew it was a possibility, I wanted to be aggressive and wanted that to be my first signing, because for me it was a no-brainer.
“Still a fantastic player, he’s a leader, an on-pitch coach. His standards on how he lives his daily life on and off the pitch is good for our young players to see, watch and learn.”
Liverpool are not missing Jordan Henderson
In my opinion, Liverpool are not missing Jordan Henderson at all. I believe that the Reds have moved on.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I respect what Henderson did during his time at Liverpool.
Henderson was a very good player for Liverpool, and his development and growth was remarkable.
However, I do not think that the 33-year-old was genuinely world class. Henderson had other top-quality midfielders around him that allowed him to play well.
But, that should not take away anything from Henderson’s legacy at Liverpool. After all, he won the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League with the Reds. And he was a very good captain.
Henderson’s importance for Liverpool was already dwindling before he left Anfield in the summer of 2023. The midfielder made 23 starts in the Premier League last season.
In 2021-22, the midfielder made 29 starts in the league, while in 2020-21, he started 20 games in the Premier League, although I should note that there were injury issues.
Liverpool have moved on from Henderson. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are doing extremely well at the moment, and the Reds are back in the hunt for the Premier League title.