OPINION
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what has gone wrong for Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson this season.
He looks a shadow of the player that he was towards the end of the 2017/18 Premier League campaign, and he cannot seem to churn out any performances worthy of plaudits.
Henderson’s exploits last term earned him a call-up to England’s World Cup squad, where he soon established himself as one of the focal points in Gareth Southgate’s side.
Based on his current form, he would get nowhere near the international scene, which is a real shame.
He replaced Naby Keita after 20 minutes in the Champions League clash against Napoli on Wednesday night, but from there on out he failed to make any sort of positive contribution on the game.
Henderson cannot be blamed for all of Liverpool’s problems, but those problems would go a long way to being solved if Jurgen Klopp axed the 28-year-old for the all important fixture with Manchester City this Sunday.
The match is too crucial not to win and Henderson would just be a liability on the pitch if he was selected to play, and City’s midfielders would run rings around him based the way he is currently performing.
Never before have we seen Henderson so off the pace, but Klopp must make this decision for the sake of the team and their success.
Klopp cannot afford to risk playing the £100,000-a-week [Spotrac] star any longer and he must be relegated to a fringe role due to his inconsistency.
Yes, we are not long into the Premier League season – but it is rather easy to tell that Henderson has not settled into this new campaign in the way that he would have wanted to on the back of England’s tournament success.
He had zero impact on the game against Napoli, and Klopp must not think twice about axing one of his regulars.
