Back in April 2019, Jordan Henderson admitted he had a “difficult” conversation with Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool.
The £20m man asked to no longer be considered as a holding midfielder following the arrival of Fabinho, and wanted to be used as a No.8 at Anfield instead of a No.6 – Klopp obliged.
As quoted by the Guardian, Henderson said: “It’s difficult to do that – it’s hard. For me as a captain and as a player at this club I always put the team first. I just thought that might give me a bit more licence to get forward more.”
Now, Klopp may have to hold another tough chat with the 31-year-old.
What’s the problem?
Well, in our view, Henderson doesn’t make Liverpool’s strongest XI anymore.
As captain, Klopp may feel as if he has to start the Liverpool No.14 regularly, although the time has come for that to be up for debate.
Harvey Elliott is fit again, as is Thiago, while Fabinho’s role in screening the back four is pretty much set in stone – Klopp has nobody like the Brazilian.
The Reds also have Naby Keita, who provides an intricacy to Liverpool’s play which Henderson does not.
As the Daily Mail documented, Henderson played very poorly in the 1-0 win over Burnley on Sunday, where he lost possession 24 times and completed just 50% of his passes.
Jordan Henderson must earn it at Liverpool
The England international is a fighter.
Following his chat with Klopp in 2019, Henderson went on to shine in the second half of the season, playing an influential role in a No.8 position as the Reds won the Champions League.
Now, for whatever reason, it seems Henderson has become too comfortable in the starting XI once again, and is in need of a kick up the backside.
Competition brings out the best in footballers, and should he spend a few weeks on the sidelines, we’re sure he’ll come back much, much better.
Before that happens though, Klopp will have to hold a presumably difficult conversation with his captain about it, which may not go down well.
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