Signing This Midfielder Cost Liverpool’s Football Director His Job

In a recent interview, former Liverpool director of football, Damien Comolli has stated that the primary reason he got the sack from the job was because he signed Jordan Henderson.

Speaking to talkSPORT, the Frenchman revealed the reason why he was sacked:

“Henderson is one of the main reasons I got sacked.

“Day I got sacked they told me I had made a big mistake on Jordan and he was a waste of money.”

Henderson had joined Liverpool from Sunderland for a fee of £16million in 2012 and initially struggled to perform for the Reds. Comolli though defended his decision to sign the player and for the money paid for him.

“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I think we paid the right price. He was a young English, British player and we know very often that British players are overvalued. But we were more than happy to pay the price because we thought he would become an outstanding player.”

A future captain in the making

While not many expected Henderson to become the Liverpool captain, the midfielder has also become captain of England in a recent World Cup qualifier. The Frenchman also stated that he believed Henderson would be a captain someday.

“I never said it publicly, but I was convinced he would be the future captain. People will say it is easy to say now, but I was convinced at the time that he would become the Liverpool captain. Now he is and he is also the England captain.”

Many have questioned the tactics of FSG when dealing with transfers and the club did face a lot of flak for signing a 20-year-old Henderson who was far from the finished article. Comolli though was convinced he was doing the right thing and even Kenny Dalglish wanted to bring the young Englishman in.

“I was totally convinced, as was Kenny, that we were doing the right thing for the club.

“He fitted the profile we were looking for. We knew he was an outstanding person, we knew he had leadership skills, we knew he was totally dedicated to football, to his passion, and we knew he was someone who wanted to improve on a day-to-day basis.

“We knew his physical abilities — his fitness stats were absolutely unbelievable. We were looking at statistics and we were going through a lot of midfield players in the Premier League and what amazed me and caught my eye was his ability to create quality chances.”

A rising star at Liverpool

While Henderson’s best season would have been the 2012-13 season where the Reds just missed out on the title, this season has been much better for the captain. He might not be playing in a comfortable position but Jurgen Klopp is getting the best out of every player.

Henderson has become crucial to Liverpool’s midfield and cannot be dropped. Not many thought Henderson would stick around at the club but his playing style and endless energy have made him a favourite, for some, at least.

Only time will tell if Liverpool made the right call bringing in Henderson all those years ago. The Reds are in a great position now and some credit should go to the 26-year-old Englishman.