Jordan Henderson

Jordan Brian Henderson (born 17 June 1990) is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team as a midfielder. He had a loan spell at Coventry City in 2009. He earned his first international cap for England, having previously played for the under-19, under-20 and under-21 teams. Henderson was schooled at Farringdon Community Sports College before joining Sunderland as a youngster.

Henderson played his first league game for Sunderland as a half-time substitute on 1 November 2008, in a 5–0 away defeat to Chelsea. He then made his first Sunderland start and home début against Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup.

Sunderland

In the 2009–10 season, Henderson broke into the Sunderland first team and made several Premier League appearances. He scored his first senior goal for the club against Birmingham City in the Carling Cup third round. He then went on to score his first Premier League goal against Manchester City on 19 December 2009.

Henderson spent the majority of the season on the right side of midfield but played centrally in the absence of Lee Cattermole; his versatility and consistency earning him a new five year contract on 23 April 2010, keeping him with the club till 2015. He also went on to win the Young Player of the Year award for the 2009–10 season.
Henderson's first full season with Sunderland was a major success. He won one personal accolade, scored two goals in all competitions and managed six assists.

Henderson made a solid start in pre-season, scoring two goals, both away from home against Leicester City and Hoffenheim respectively. Days later, on 13 August his squad number was changed from 16 to 10. Henderson's early season form caught the eye of many observers, most notably Fabio Capello who made Henderson a part of his senior squad to face France on 17 November 2010. Henderson helped Sunderland to an unbeaten run of games against big clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all of whom have since reportedly registered an interest in the player. Henderson went on to score his first goal of the season in the 1–0 win over West Ham United.
On 13 January 2011, Henderson was listed on the official FIFA website as one of thirteen young players to watch in 2011, he ranked alongside Manchester United's David de Gea and Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku.FIFA also added Henderson is "Composed, athletic and powerful". Henderson has also been hailed as "the best young British footballer there is" by his Sunderland manager, Steve Bruce.
Henderson scored twice against Wigan Athletic on 23 April 2011, as Sunderland ended a run of 8 games without a win. Henderson was again named Sunderland's Young Player of the Year for the second season running.

 

Liverpool

On 8 June 2011, Sunderland and Liverpool confirmed they had agreed an undisclosed fee (reported to be between £16 million and £20 million) for Henderson, who would travel to Liverpool's training facility Melwood to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms regarding a move to Liverpool. Sunderland's chairman Niall Quinn commented on the deal, stating on the official Sunderland website that "Jordan is a credit to himself, his family and Sunderland's Academy and everyone here wishes him the very best for the future". Later that day, Liverpool released video footage of Henderson in club gear at Melwood. He completed the move a day later on 9 June 2011, signing "a long-term deal" with the club. On 8 July 2011, it was confirmed that Henderson would be wearing the number 14 shirt for Liverpool worn previously by Xabi Alonso and Milan Jovanović. On 13 August 2011, Henderson made his debut in Liverpool's first game of the 2011–12 Premier League, a 1–1 draw against his former club Sunderland. Henderson's second game was a 2–0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, the first away win for Liverpool over Arsenal in 11 years since Titi Camara scored the winning goal at Highbury 2001. This was also the club's first win at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal's home since the closing of Highbury Stadium. On 27 August 2011, Henderson scored his first goal for Liverpool in a Premier League fixture at Anfield against Bolton Wanderers. Henderson came on as a second half substitute against Manchester United and almost scored a goal from a volley which was saved by David de Gea. In the League Cup match against Stoke City he assisted Luis Suárez second goal by crossing it in and Suárez finished it with a header. After coming under some criticism in his first couple games for liverpool Henderson's performances appear to be getting better game by game in his first few months Henderson has found himself playing as a right midfielder but has occasionaly played in the center of midfield.

International Career

Henderson has represented England at four different levels. He made his debut for the under-19's in 2009 against Czech Republic before breaking into Stuart Pearce's under-21 squad. He then scored his first goal in an England shirt in the European Championship play-offs against Romania, hitting a volley from outside the box to get the first goal in the game.

On 11 November 2010, Henderson was omitted from England's U21 squad for their friendly with Germany, instead receiving his first call up to the senior England squad on 17 November 2010, for their friendly against France. He made the starting line up, starting in midfield alongside Steven Gerrard.
Henderson was selected in the England U21 squad for the 2011 European Championships, despite having played 40 games already that season. However England Under 21's were knocked out in the group stage.He captained the England U21 team in a 6–0 win over Azerbaijan U21 on 1 September 2011, scoring one goal in the Euro 2013 qualifier.