Why Jordan Henderson Deserves to be England Captain

Andy Clark
Harry Kane is the England men’s captain. He’s done a good job, but should he be in the role? Liverpool leader Jordan Henderson has had plenty of success as a skipper at club level and now could be the time for the midfielder to take on the role for his country. We’ve had a look at why the former Sunderland man should be captaining his country.  

He’s the captain of the best team in England

Upon Steven Gerrard’s retirement in 2015, Jordan Henderson was immediately made Liverpool captain. In that time period, Liverpool have become the best club in the country. They’ve won loads, as will be covered later, and they’re 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League at the time of writing. Henderson has played a vital role in the growth of the club, making 165 appearances since taking the armband, and is a trusted regular and member of Klopp’s squad. https://twitter.com/leemacca13/status/1212856187877777409?s=21 He must be doing something right.  

He’s an England regular

England and Gareth Southgate have a few questions based around who gets into their best XI; James Maddison? Jadon Sancho? John Stones? There are no questions about Jordan Henderson. He’s an England regular and has been for a while. At club level, it’s possible there is a club captain that doesn’t really play. At international level, that’s not really a thing. The England captain should be a regular in the starting 11. Kane, obviously, is, but so is Henderson. So he’d be a good candidate. Read More: What has happened at Goodison Park? Why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should leave Old Trafford.  

He’s won it all (almost)

As mentioned earlier, Henderson has been hugely successful at Liverpool. He captained the side to their sixth Champions League last season and has added the Super Cup and Club World Cup to his cabinet this campaign. It’s, let’s say, likely, he’ll add the Premier League trophy Liverpool have been craving come May, too. It’s pretty handy when your captain is successful. Looks good for them on the CV, too.  

Kane doesn’t captain Spurs

It’s quite interesting that the current England captain isn’t the captain of his club side. That’s very rare. France skipper Hugo Lloris is Spurs’ captain. When he got injured, Kane captained the side, but, with all fit, the forward wouldn’t have the armband for his club. He’s done a good job as England captain, but something doesn’t really sit right with the fact the captain of our national team doesn’t captain his club. It’s similar to when someone is a regular for England but not their club. It doesn’t seem right.  

Harsh on Henderson

In conclusion, it’s highly unlikely Jordan Henderson will ever be the permanent captain of England. He’s 29 years old, now, and Kane is 26, so it’s pretty likely the Liverpool man will retire first. It seems a shame. Henderson wins a lot and has done a great job at Liverpool, so there’s little doubt he’d do a great job at England. Kane hasn’t done a poor job, don’t get us wrong. He led the side well at the 2018 World Cup and has been a good role model in the new England era. It’s just incredible that Henderson, after all his success at Liverpool, will never be the England captain.