Jordan Henderson
Birthdate: 17 June 1990
Birthplace: Sunderland, England
Other clubs: Sunderland (2006-11), Coventry City (loan 2009)
Bought from: Sunderland
Signed for LFC: £16m, 09.06.2011
International debut: 17.11.2010 vs. France
International caps: 5/0 (4/0 at LFC) - 24.06.2012
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Liverpool debut: 13.08.2011
Last appearance: 19.05.2013
Debut goal: 27.08.2011
Last goal: 27.04.2013
Contract expiry: 2016
Win ratio: 48.91% W: 45 D: 20 L: 27
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 4 / 0
LFC league games/goals: 67 / 7
Total LFC games/goals: 92 / 8
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Player profile
Henderson's breakthrough into the first team at Sunderland came as an 18-year-old in the 2008/09 season but he had actually been linked with his local Premier League club since he was only seven-years-old. As he progressed through different age-groups he played as a striker and a right-winger before moving back into the midfield role which he played in when he helped Sunderland’s Under-18 team win successive titles. Henderson was loaned to Coventry City in the Championship for the second half of the 2008/09 season but a metatarsal injury restricted him to only ten appearances. When fully recovered he became a fixture at Sunderland after returning to the Stadium of Light. His consistent performances brought him successive awards as Sunderland’s "Young Player of the Year" in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons in which he was absent from only six Premier League matches. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce had great expectations on behalf of his young midfield dynamo after the first couple of months of the 2010/11 season: "It would be unfair of me to liken Jordan to Giggsy at this stage, but there are parallels - certainly Jordan is becoming as important to us as Giggsy was in his early days at Old Trafford. Jordan has got a very, very bright future. The sky's the limit for him. Jordan has everything you need from a modern-day player - he has a lovely feel for the ball, but he is also 6 ft. 2 in. already and has terrific energy." Henderson represented his country at Under-17 and Under-19 level before being called into the senior squad by Fabio Capello and making his full international debut on the same occasion as Andy Carroll, against France at Wembley in November 2010.
If Henderson is being groomed to play alongside and perhaps ultimately take Steven Gerrard's role in the team, he knows there is one aspect of his game that needs improving. Six goals in 92 appearances for Sunderland and Coventry is not a goals-per-game ratio he takes much pleasure in and he confesses that "it has been a weakness in my game. Top midfielders score goals. It is a vital part of the modern game." It might surprise his many detractors to realise that Jordan Henderson played in more first-team matches in 2011/12, 48 out of 51, than any other player at Liverpool. At times he seemed a little lost and not really sure what his role in the team was. He did score two goals during his debut season at Anfield, against Bolton in the second home match and Chelsea in the last, were finishes of supreme accuracy and confidence. At the end of May Henderson was called up into England's Euro 2012 squad following an injury to Chelsea's Frank Lampard that had ruled him out of the tournament, adding vital experience to his career by coming on as twice as substitute. Henderson seemed rejuvenated as Brendan Rodgers took over at Liverpool and his game has been flourishing, finally showing what he is capable of.