Former Premier League winner Chris Sutton has been left baffled by fellow BBC pundit Micah Richards’ claim that Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is ‘world class’.
There has been plenty of debate in recent weeks about who should start in central midfield for England at the Euros next summer, and Richards feels that Henderson is a shoe-in.
“You would argue Henderson is world class because of what he’s done, consistency and what not,” the former Manchester City star said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Sutton replied on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday by saying: “World class really???…”
World class really???… https://t.co/7HGJR1KMLM
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) November 19, 2019
OPINION
The question of world class is a difficult one to define and therefore to judge who qualifies for that description. However, Richards was firm in his conviction that Henderson is a world class midfielder, and it’s a statement that has become increasingly difficult to argue against in recent years. This is a Champions League-winning captain, after all, a player who is routinely picked for the big games by one of football’s finest managers in Jurgen Klopp. Henderson is one of those players who consistently goes under the radar. He’s a workhorse, but someone whose technical ability is underrated as well. The former Sunderland man is one of those midfielders who is unspectacular, but that doesn’t mean he’s not world class. He’s akin to the likes of Sergio Busquets for Spain, Blaise Matuidi for France and his Liverpool teammate Georginio Wijnaldum for the Netherlands. They are all considered world class, and so the Reds skipper must be in that class as well.
