Former Liverpool players Mark Wright and Jason McAteer have lavished praise on midfielder Jordan Henderson following his performance for the Reds last night in a 2-0 win over Burnley.

Henderson joined the Merseyside giants in the summer of 2011 and after struggling to cement a regular starting place in the Liverpool first team in his initial years, he has become a regular feature of Brendan Rodgers’ midfield.




The 24-year-old has made 41 appearances so far this season; dictating play from midfield, the England international has scored five goals and assisted a further 12 in all competitions.

In the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard, Rodgers has handed the captain's armband to Henderson and he is relishing the increased responsibility, having scored in the Reds' last two Premier League encounters.
 


McAteer feels Gerrard’s absence has liberated Henderson and the youngster has embraced his increased responsibility on the pitch, which is being reflected in his performances of late.

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“Jordan Henderson is growing on the pitch in the absence of Steven Gerrard. It is like he embraces the challenge of being a captain and he embraces the challenge of leading by example and that is good for Liverpool”, McAteer told LFC TV.

Wright, who represented the Merseyside outfit in the 1990s, echoed McAteer’s sentiments, adding that Henderson’s influence goes far beyond mere goals and his ability to pick a pass is grossly under-rated.

“I think it is easy to be overawed while paying alongside Steven Gerrard.

“He was in the shadows of Steven a lot of the time, but now he is expressing himself a bit more, demanding the ball wherever he is on the pitch just like Steven did when he was young.

“He is maturing every game and he is getting stronger not only for scoring the goals but the way he picks his head up and picks those fantastic passes out.”

McAteer further added that during Gerrard’s best years at Liverpool, he was often left to fight a lone battle, not being helped by lesser players around him.

The same is not the case with Henderson, which will take some pressure off his shoulders and allow him to play with freedom. He further added that the midfielder is better off playing his natural game than trying to emulate Gerrard.

“Henderson is not going to be like Gerrard. He doesn’t have to be like Gerrard as there is a very good team around him, he has got [Philippe] Coutinho, [Adam] Lallana, [Daniel] Sturridge alongside him, they all add to the mix.

“Whereas it was all about Gerrard for long periods of time now Henderson has a very good team around him.

"He doesn’t need to emulate Gerrard, he needs to be Henderson because he is highly effective just being Henderson.”

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