Jurgen Klopp has gone for a tour to USA, but that does not mean he is cool about improvising the Liverpool squad for next season. World class managers like him start their work even before we start thinking about and that’s what makes a manager top class. Klopp clearly knows his priorities. He has identified his primary targets and are keen on bringing them to Anfield. But transfers are not the only thing Klopp has to do during this summer. He has some work to do within the squad he has at the moment.
Jordan Henderson has split opinion among the Liverpool fans since he arrived at the club in 2011. Jordan Henderson inherited the armband from Steven Gerrard last season and many of the Liverpool fans are still not sure about this decision. He has only featured in 17 Premier League matches this season. Henderson had to spend a lot of time on the sidelines due to a heel injury. Though he scored 2 goals and assisted 3 from just 17 matches as a Midfielder, he was not able to prove the doubters wrong. Is Jordan Henderson good enough for Liverpool? Does Liverpool need an upgrade on the Englishman? Let’s take a look at what Jordan Henderson brings to the team.
As mentioned earlier, the 25 year old joined Liverpool in 2011 at the age of 20. He was brought by the then Liverpool manager, Kenny Daliglish, for a fee of about 18 Million Euros from Sunderland. The hefty price tag and inexperience of the players caused unrest among the fans. It was during 2013 that Henderson really impressed the fans. His energetic running and athleticism made a real difference in the Liverpool Midfield. He is not a goal scoring Midfielder but he turned out to be an engine in the Liverpool team. He partnered with Steven Gerrard in the Liverpool Midfield in the 2014/15 season and played a key role in Liverpool finishing 2nd in the league table. The former Sunderland man was rewarded for his energetic performances and he was made Liverpool’s Vice Captain, after Daniel Agger decided to leave the club. Henderson also had a good season next year, despite Liverpool finishing seventh on the league table. This time he received a bigger reward. Jordan Henderson was announced as the Liverpool Captain after Steven Gerrard decided to moved to the US.
Since then, things have not went the way Henderson might have wanted to go. He underwent a surgery after sustaining a heel injury, but before he could rejoin the team he broke a bone in his left leg. Jordan Henderson himself said that his injury was incurable and he will have to play with pain in his leg for the rest of his life. But, he was too determined to give up. Henderson pushed himself and returned to full training by the end of the season. He was available for team selection against Sevilla, in the Europa League finals, but he ended up as an unused substitute.
This season was a one to forget for Henderson, but now he is with the England squad at the Euros. He will be looking to leave behind this disappointing season of his and restart again. But many of the Liverpool fans still doubt him and his captaincy. Some say that he is completely not a Liverpool type of player. So many says he does not deserve to be the captain of the side. Some oppose the other two opinions. They believe he has acquired the leadership qualities that Steven Gerrard had (but their playing styles are completely different) and they want the management to give him some more time as the captain. Players like James Milner, Emre Can and Mamadou Sakho are three players who the fans want to see as the captain of the side.
Will Klopp name a new captain for Liverpool?
If we look at Klopp’s history with Borussia Dortmund, we can see that he always kept some players with leadership quality in the side. Roman Weidenfeller, Mats Hummels, Nevan Subotic and even Marco Reus had leadership abilities and all of them had worn the armband under Klopp. Likeways, Klopp might be thinking of a similar setup at Liverpool. Mamadou Sakho, Dejan Lovren, James Milner, Emre Can, Jordan Henderson and even Adam Lallana are players with leadership qualities and have worn the armband either for club or country (Emre Can used to be the captain of Germany U-21 side). And next season, maybe everyone will have a similar role at the club.
It might be too soon to strip Jordan Henderson off the armband. Henderson’s energy level is evident in his game and that is what is needed from a captain. Henderson might not be a world class player, but he had got the passion and determination to captain a side like Liverpool.
Klopp should keep Jordan Henderson as the captain of the side for one more season and what he is able to do. Let him recover from his injury fully and let’s see what he can bring to the side as the captain. And at the same time, Klopp should try Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can too (Klopp has seem Milner’s leadership skills this season). Emre Can became a serious contender for the armband after he fought off his injury to return to the side and face Villarreal in the Europa League Semi finals. Emre Can was a tank in the Midfield for Liverpool. Mamadou Sakho, on the other hand, broke the hearts of the Liverpool fans when he was accused of doping.
He got banned for a month by UEFA and it looked like Liverpool would have to part ways with the Frenchman soon. But things took a serious turn last month. Reports came out saying that Sakho won’t be facing any further bans and is elegible to play again. Later, it was again reported that Sakho himself asked for a one month ban so that the team won’t be affected in any manner. After this news came out, many of the Liverpool fans who accused him was shocked and they wanted the club to announce him as the next captain for ‘taking a bullet in the head’ for the club.
Overall, Henderson has a lot to prove if he is to keep the armband and next season will be a test for him. James Milner, Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can will be knocking on the doors and if Klopp wills we can expect any of them to become the official captain to the club. When Klopp joined the team in October, he had said that Henderson was a perfect captain and he is not willing to take the responsibility away from him. Klopp has not said anything further on that until that so mpwe can assume that Klopp does not intend on changing the captain.
