Jordan Henderson could be a little special

Nov 7 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

It has happened many times before and the victims are now playing in the lower leagues still trying to understand where it all went wrong. The materials are there for a masterpiece, but it is the application, not the existence, of talent which defines greatness.

Bruce continued: “I had a report on him when I was manager at Wigan that he was dong very well (on loan) at Coventry. Blackie (Eric Black) my assistant had been there and kept an eye on it so we were a little bit aware.

“We knew it would be very difficult to prise him away from here. He was the one I had more calls about than anyone over the summer. Nearly every manager in the Championship wanted Jordan on loan.

“What grabbed me was his enthusiasm, he is 6ft 2in, his running power, and then, of course, he can handle the ball and when you have all of that, you have an outstanding chance.

“Of everyone who was here, he was the one who jumped out and grabbed me. It was pre-season and he had obviously worked extremely hard over the summer.

“He is a natural athlete, he is capable in games of getting right to the peak (physical) performance of anyone in the Premier League. Any midfield player, he is level with them at 19 and that is some going. He has a very good start, but that is all it is. So when he grows up. . . the big thing is that we keep his feet on the ground.”

Bruce is still unsure whether Henderson is better suited to a central midfield role or a wide one, although he knows he has the time in front of him to experiment.

He is also not clear why the teenager has not already broken into the England Under-21 squad. He added: “I don't know if centre midfield is his best position.

“I have not decided yet, but he can definitely play the wide areas. So the good thing is he can do both. It is surely only a matter of time before he gets an Under-21 call up.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t already, to be honest.

“There is nothing better than a local lad coming through and doing great. We have got a few more because the Academy system here is terrific. They work extremely hard at it.

“Of course, when you get one coming through, and I had to make the decision very quickly, but it allowed me to let (Dean) Whitehead and (Grant) Leadbitter go. Because I needed to make room for Jordan Henderson.”