Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has implied that Jordan Henderson can replace Steven Gerrard when the stalwart departs from Anfield in the summer, as reported on liverpoolfc.com.
Henderson was appointed vice captain at the club in the summer, suggesting that Rodgers was viewing him as a captain of the future.
This represents an exceptional rise for the midfielder, who had fallen out of favour when Rodgers first arrived at the club.
Gerrard has worn the armband for an extended period of time, and is considered to be one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players, which means replacing him in the summer could be difficult.
However, while Rodgers is aware that the two players have completely different playing styles, Henderson could still be an adequate replacement for the former England international.
As part of that attempt to develop a replacement for Gerrard, Rodgers decided to make him vice captain in an attempt to provide Henderson with leadership lessons from Gerrard himself.
“It was one of the reasons I made him vice-captain,” Rodgers told reporters.
“I felt that he had no greater captain to learn from than Stevie.
“The idea of putting him in that role was for him to see Steven as a great example. In that vice-captain’s role, it would give him pole position in terms of learning from a great – how Steven behaves and how he works, on and off the field.
“So when it came to the point that Steven would move on, we had someone there who, of course, is a different sort of player, but someone who can offer that wisdom and knowledge throughout his years here.
“That’s something that I know he is very keen to do and something he has been doing, in learning from Steven.”
