Jordan Henderson was advised by club legend Steven Gerrard to remain at Liverpool

Jordan Henderson was told by former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard to stay put at Anfield. Jordan Henderson's career at Liverpool was under threat due to some inconsistent performances from the Englishman. However, after coming under heavy scrutiny from sections of the Liverpool faithful, Jordan Henderson has brushed the monkey off his back with hard work with fans increasingly campaigning for 'Jordan Henderson PFA Player of the Year'.

Filling Steven Gerrard's spot wasn't easy for Jordan Henderson

Back in the summer of 2015, Steven Gerrard hung up his boots by leaving his boyhood club to join MLS side LA Galaxy. Despite an illustrious career with plenty of accolades, the 39-year-old never got his hands on the elusive Premier League title. Furthermore, Steven Gerrard’s departure meant that there was a massive void to fill at the centre of Liverpool's midfield and more importantly, to find a spirited leader.

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That role was given to a 24-year-old Jordan Henderson at the time and there were several question marks over the direction in which the club was heading due to the tribulations caused by Jordan Henderson. It was apparent that Liverpool were no longer deemed to compete for major honours with Jordan Henderson as their captain and the former Sunderland star was set to depart Merseyside to rejuvenate his career elsewhere.

Jurgen Klopp's influence on Jordan Henderson

However, following a change in his playing position, Jordan Henderson has sparkled for Jurgen Klopp playing an integral role in guiding Liverpool to Champions League glory in June as well as lifting the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup over the next few months. Klopp has pushed Henderson slightly further up the pitch and the results are perceptible.  

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Liverpool are also on the way to win their first Premier League title in 30 years and Jordan Henderson has played a massive part this term. In fact, Henderson is among the few players in the conversation of being awarded the 2020 PFA Player of the Year award. 

Steven Gerrard waxing lyrical about Jordan Henderson

In a recent interview with former club-mate Danny Murphy for the Daily Mail, Gerrard admitted that he admired Henderson’s work rate as he explained his ‘never say die’ attitude, “We both [Gerrard and Murphy] knew there are players who are “at it” every day. I appreciated Jordan’s power and fitness by training with him. Some players play for the rest of the team, Jordan does the dirty running, grappling for second balls, 12 or 13km Saturday and Wednesday, again and again.”

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Gerrard then concluded by stating that  Jordan Henderson deserves to lift the Premier League and revealed a key piece of advice he gave the fellow Englishman during the tough time the Henderson went through in his career but also stated that there was no way he would take credit for Henderson’s resurgence, “Teams can’t function at Liverpool’s level without a cog like Jordan Henderson. He’s obviously going be a Premier League winner with Liverpool. I look at him and think: good for you. He has that confidence now. He has lifted the European Cup above his head. I don’t deserve one iota of credit because he has done it all himself, but I remember a chat with Jordan during my time in LA a while ago and he wasn’t sure whether he was coming or going at the club. I remember saying to him don’t give up on Liverpool and you’ll be fine. I knew what he had inside and that he would get there. You know with certain people.”

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Jordan Henderson PFA Player of the Year discarded due to Injury?

For the third season in a row, the PFA Player of the Year could be won by a Liverpool star but Henderson suffered an injury during Liverpool's clash against Atletico Madrid. Henderson is set to spend close to three weeks on the sidelines with a return expected in mid-March.