Why Jordan Henderson is not guaranteed a starting role this season

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Sanjay Nair explains why Jordan Henderson will need to fight for his spot in the starting XI this season despite his importance to Liverpool.

The latter half of the 2017/2018 season saw, among other positives, the emergence of a real leader within the Liverpool ranks.

The transformation of Jordan Henderson into the captain we all needed since the departure of Steven Gerrard has been unmistakable and this did not go unnoticed with England manager Gareth Southgate.

The armband may have been given to Harry Kane to lead from the front for his goalscoring ability, but it was very obvious who was pushing the team forward on the field throughout the tournament.

Henderson, or Hendo as we fondly call him, was everywhere you’d want him to be. Making crunching tackles, winning the ball back, deft touches in the middle of the park and he was a sight to behold.

All this put together would make him one of the first names of the team-sheet. Or so we’d have thought about a month ago. Four games into pre-season and the performances of Fabinho and Naby Keïta have made that picture somewhat hazier.

These two have put on an impressive show so far and looked to have gelled pretty well into the current structure, defensively and offensively. Fabinho has so far shown tremendous composure in the role assigned whereas in terms of creativity and winning the ball back in midfield, Keïta is already a proven player.

Add to that, the chemistry between Keïta and a resurgent Daniel Sturridge has added another dimension to the Liverpool attack so far.

If Sturridge can stay fit through pre-season and well into the first month of the new Premier League season, it would be rather exciting to see him making a start along the Fab-3.

The handing over of the crucial No. 10 jersey to Sadio Mané could mean Sturridge playing alongside Firmino and Salah upfront. If that were the case, a new midfield trio of Fabinho, Keita and Mané will make this Liverpool side even more dangerous.

Any manager will be tempted to give it a go, especially since we have a favourable start to the season – at least on paper.

This would of course mean that Hendo will be the one to miss out from the starting XI and will have to be satisfied with a role coming off the bench, mostly to shut down games. It would seem harsh on a player who was played his heart out always, but such is the talent at Klopp’s disposal now.

Leadership qualities are not always connected to an arm-band and Hendo will still be relied upon to be a vocal force within the team.

Perhaps Van Dijk, as many see best suited to take over the leadership role, might be given the on-field captaincy. All said and done, injuries to others notwithstanding, Henderson has a real fight on his hands to win back his place in this team.