Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has heaped praise on current Kop captain Jordan Henderson, claiming that he has to start the Champions League final on Saturday evening.
The 28-year-old has been a key figure for the Reds over the latter stages of the season, and Rangers boss Gerrard is in no doubt over whether or not he should feature in Madrid.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “100%, Jordan Henderson has got to start.
“I’ve always been a fan of Jordan Henderson, I believe he’s a selfless player, I think he does a lot of work for the team that goes unnoticed.
“I know what he’s like on and off the pitch. He puts himself behind everyone else; he’s just that type of person.
“I think he’s more than capable of winning any football match that he’s playing in and I think of late, certainly since he’s been playing a further forward role, he’s taken more responsibility and has been one of Liverpool’s most consistent players.”
OPINION
Steven Gerrard knows a thing or two about box-to-box midfielders, and he knows a thing to two about captaining Liverpool to Champions League glory, so if he says that Henderson has to start, chances are he has to start. The 28-year-old has been in fine form for the Reds in recent times, and ever since he was pushed into a more advanced role in that central trio that Jurgen Klopp tends to employ, he has flourished. When Gerrard retired, it was Henderson who was entrusted with taking his place. The problem was that at that time, Gerrard had converted into a deep-lying midfielder. As such, Henderson was generally deployed in front of the back four. It would have been much better for both player and club if he had been played in the role that made Gerrard the hero of the Kop. His intensity, creative football with one eye on defence, that was what the Liverpool legend was best at, and it’s what Henderson is showing increasingly to be his forte too.
