Adam Lallana has been singing the praises of Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
The midfielder spent six years playing alongside Henderson at Anfield, prior to leaving last summer on a Bosman.
Henderson has led Liverpool to Champions League and Premier League glory over the last two years.
In fact, he was the first Reds captain in 30 years to win a top-flight league title on Merseyside.
He is comfortably one of Liverpool’s most influential players in terms of leadership, but Lallana has admitted to The Times that he’s frustrated over the lack of acknowledgement he gets for his actual talent.
He told The Times: “His leadership skills are often mentioned above his football quality. That still frustrates me – the only reason I can think of is that he’s not the same on the eye as other players regardless of being able to do what they can.
“He can also be aggressive in his mannerisms, shouting, coaxing, organising, so maybe that side of his game is highlighted more. He passes the ball quickly and is selfless in his performances; someone who worries more about other people than himself.”
Credit
It’s taken a while, but Henderson, a £20 million signing in 2011, has finally, over the past few years, started to get the credit and shine that he deserves.
He wasn’t always as popular among fans of the Anfield club as he is now, but he’s never been a poor footballer by any stretch of the imagination.
But when you replace an icon in the form of Steven Gerrard, that’s invariably who you’ll be compared to.
And although Gerrard was a better player, Henderson will go down in history at Liverpool and that alone is worth celebrating.
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