OPINION
If there is one Liverpool player who is the definition of a Jurgen Klopp favourite it’s Jordan Henderson. Although infuriating to the supporters at times, the England international rarely fails to start in big games for the Reds.
However, the 28-year-old will surely be worried about his first team spot after the recent performances of his rival central midfielders Adam Lallana and James Milner.
Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum seem fairly well established as Klopp’s two primary midfielders, meaning that the three Englishmen are competing for one position in the current set up.
As mentioned, Henderson tends to get the nod in crucial matches, but Lallana and Milner have been making up some ground on the Liverpool skipper in recent weeks.
The former has been hugely impressive in back-to-back Premier League wins over Burnley and Fulham, providing the sort of creativity that has at times been desperately lacking from the Reds midfield this season. Milner, meanwhile, came off the bench to net the winner from the penalty spot in the victory over the Cottagers last time out.
Both players excelled in that game, even if Lallana played many more minutes than Milner. Their performances will have posed a nice problem for Klopp moving forward.
It would seem that Lallana likely still won’t feature from the start in crunch European or Premier League fixtures, probably because his manager doesn’t see him as defensively solid enough for those type of games.
Milner, though, is who Henderson should be worried about. The former England international produced a stellar start to the campaign before his form dipped ever so slightly, but he remains a crucial element of this Liverpool team – plus he can do everything that Henderson can do but with more attacking capabilities.
Henderson may still be ahead in Klopp’s pecking order due to his intrinsic leadership qualities, but there’s no doubt that he will have been sweating buckets watching his rivals for a first team spot excel against the Cottagers on Sunday.
