Speaking on Joe Cole’s Podcast on BT Sport’s YouTube channel, Jordan Henderson has been discussing how he almost left Liverpool.
As the story goes, back in 2012, Liverpool actually wanted to let Henderson go in a swap deal that would have seen Clint Dempsey arrive from Fulham.
At the time, Henderson was struggling on Merseyside, while Dempsey had smashed in 17 Premier League goals in west London for the Cottagers, so a swap made sense.
However, Henderson stayed and decided to fight for his place, Dempsey ended up going to Spurs, and the rest, as they say, is history.
What’s been said?
Henderson discussed the potential swap deal that was rumoured around that time.
“It wasn’t a tough decision for me, but it hurt hearing it from a new manager when Brendan came in that it was a possibility that the club would do and wanted to do because they wanted to bring Clint Dempsey in at the time. It wasn’t difficult for me because I didn’t want to go. I’d only been there a year, I sacrificed a lot and gave everything to get to Liverpool and I felt like I had a lot more to give, so it was an easy no from me,” Henderson said.
Disaster averted
It wasn’t Liverpool’s doing, but the Reds avoided a surefire disaster when Henderson rejected this swap deal.
The midfielder has since gone on to become one of the most successful captains in the club’s history, an England international and a genuine club legend at Anfield.
Meanwhile, Dempsey struggled at Tottenham, headed to MLS just one year later and is long-retired, while Henderson is still making an impact at the very top level.
Fulham probably wish that Henderson had taken the deal, but fortunately for Liverpool, the midfielder wasn’t going to give up that easily after a shaky start on Merseyside.
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