Liverpool might be without Jordan Henderson for some time and that means they lose a truly elite player. Here we try and put some perspective on exactly what the captain brings.
The Athletic’s Oliver Kay says Jordan Henderson may miss the rest of the season. That’s the worst-case scenario, here. Liverpool hope it’s just a few weeks.
Doesn’t look good, though, does it?
This is a nightmare, really. Henderson was about the only player holding Liverpool together and his absence is an immense loss. How immense? We’re going to try and put it into understandable figures.
For reference, all stats are counting players with at least 900 minutes. We believe ten games-worth of football is enough to get a proper idea of a player.
Passer
Henderson is one of the best passers in the Premier League. That is an unarguable fact.
Right off the bat, only Thiago Silva completes more passes per 90 than the Liverpool captain. What’s crazy about that figure, though, is that Henderson is top 20 for attempted high passes – he doesn’t get there by just playing short ones.
No other player completing passes at that rate takes riskier passes. You have to go all the way down to 16th to find someone who attempts more high passes and that’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
And for a player with a ‘sideways’ reputation, he’s actually one of the most progressive passers in the Premier League. Henderson is top 5 for the average amount of distance his passes gain per game (for outfield players).
But the further detailed you go, the better Henderson looks. He’s literally the best in the league when it comes to passing into the final third. He completes 10.8 per game – the next highest is Thiago’s 9.3.
Then there’s ‘progressive passes’. These are passes that move your team forward at least ten yards further than they’ve been within the last six passes. It doesn’t count any from inside 40 yards of your own goal, either.
This one gives a great idea of how incisive a player is. Can they play the pass no one else can? Can they actually move the team into a better position?
Henderson ranks fifth per 90. Only Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, Mateo Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne do it more often. The captain would almost certainly be higher if he hadn’t been playing centre-back for the last month, too.
Carries
What about moving with the ball, then?
No one in the Premier League touches the ball more than Henderson and he’s incredibly comfortable with that. Only Mateo Kovacic moves with the ball more often.
Henderson really moves Liverpool forward, too. His progressive distance is 4th in the league, slightly ahead of Jack Grealish (although for an attacking midfielder, Grealish being that high is sensational).
Defence
Henderson is best as a midfield sweeper, really. He’s top 10 in the Premier League for recovering loose balls and doesn’t really win that many tackles.
Interceptions, too, are key. Only Thiago, Fabinho and Curtis Jones have more.
As for pressing, Henderson’s numbers are very skewed this season as he’s been at centre-back. Midfield pressing, after all, will take a hit as he’ll rarely do it.
But going back to last season’s stats show us how important he is. No one in Liverpool’s midfield made more midfield presses per 90 (with at least 900 minutes). He was third for presses inside the Reds’ own third, too.
And no one had more successful presses than Henderson per 90.
To say he was important in Liverpool’s press is an understatement.
Talisman
Jordan Henderson is an elite player. World-class and capable of so much for Liverpool.
If he truly is out for the season, the Reds will lose one of their most confident players on the ball and, arguably, the best passer they have. Not to mention the man who leads their press.
Henderson is so much more than just a leader or someone who provides ‘mental toughness’. He is undoubtedly one of the best midfield players in the Premier League.
Liverpool have been desperate for him to be back there but that hope now hangs on an injury diagnosis.
So we’ll leave with one stat that sums him up. Jordan Henderson has lost one Premier League game in two years when starting in midfield – and that is truly elite.
Liverpool desperately need that right now.
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