Jordan Henderson on Philippe Coutinho situation

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Jordan Henderson has given his opinion on the “difficult” Philippe Coutinho transfer request situation as the Brazilian attempts to force his way out. 

Jordan Henderson joined Jürgen Klopp for the club’s pre-Hoffenheim press conference duties and of course, the Reds’ captain was asked his view on teammate Philippe Coutinho’s efforts to force his way out of the club.

The Brazilian handed in a transfer request on Friday in an attempt to force Liverpool’s hand but so far, the club have stood firm on their stance that the no.10 is not for sale this summer.

There have been suggestions that the playmaker’s actions have caused unrest and disruption inside the Liverpool camp but Henderson was quick to play down the impact on the dressing room.

“It’s obviously a difficult situation for Phil. Whatever I say won’t help the situation,” he said diplomatically.

“As players, we’re fully focused on the job at hand and the game. You expect things like this to happen in transfer windows, players going, players coming in but you’ve got to focus on what’s important and that’s obviously the game tomorrow. It shouldn’t have any effect at all.

“If you ask everyone they want Phil to stay because he’s a world-class player.”

The last time something like this kicked off, Luis Suarez was trying to force his way to Arsenal in the summer of 2013. Back then, Steven Gerrard did all he could to try and influence the Uruguayan into making the decision to stay, ultimately convincing him to remain on Merseyside a further 12 months.

Henderson, however, doesn’t believe he’ll be able to have the same impact on his teammate, stressing that the only one who can decide where the Brazilian wants to play is Coutinho himself.

“I don’t think I can influence the situation, I can have conversations with Phil,” he explained.

“He’s my teammate, I’m close to him because I’ve played with him for a few years and I’ve got a lot of respect for him but at the end of the day, anything that happens has nothing to do with me.”