Liverpool have new reason for Mason Mount transfer as Jordan Henderson sends message to Jurgen KloppL

Liverpool have new reason for Mason Mount transfer as Jordan Henderson sends message to Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson ‘beat’ Cody Gakpo and Luis Día

Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday nearly dashed their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, but it’s hard to argue it wasn’t a fair result.

Although there was legitimate frustration with numerous decisions from referee John Brooks, including Tyrone Mings not being shown a red card for a serious foul on Cody Gakpo, the Reds did not play well enough to win.

It was a performance without quality, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, two of Liverpool’s best performers during their recent seven-game winning streak, among the worst strikers.

Alexander-Arnold endured his first bad day in possession since moving into midfield, constantly exploiting his passes while Salah seemed carelessly wasting almost all his chances. In fact, a look at the stats shows he conceded the ball 25 times from 53 touches. He would redeem himself, it should be noted, in part with a nice cross for Roberto Firmino’s equalizing goal.

The third member of that right-sided trifecta, Jordan Henderson, also struggled here.

Henderson spent much of this game up and wide, recording more touches in the final third (23) than starting forward Gakpo or left fielder Luis Díaz (20). Indeed, only Salah (40 contacts) and Alexander-Arnold (27) have been more active in that part of the field.

Unfortunately, however, Henderson was largely ineffective. He would create just one chance and his expected assist tally of 0.08 shows he was far from a clear opening.

Frustratingly, the skipper found a teammate with only one of his four crosses. So he often turned down promising situations through a delivery that Aston Villa handled with ease.

But while weak performances from Alexander-Arnold and Salah were an anomaly, it was no surprise that Henderson made little impact.

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He has gotten far more attacking licenses since Jürgen Klopp changed his system (as evidenced by his latest third touch volume), but he just lacks the quality in forward areas to use that freedom. His only return to attack in his last nine games (of which he started seven) was an assist in a 6-1 defeat of Leeds United. Curtis Jones, the man in a similar role at left, struck three and set up another in that time.

Liverpool are favorites to sign Chelsea’s Mason Mount this summer, according to The Guardian, and Henderson’s performance against Aston Villa should make the Reds even more determined to sign him. A specialist attacking midfielder could be much more productive in the captaincy role.

To some extent, Henderson’s disappointing return isn’t his fault. He’s capable of quality moments, but overall it’s not a position that plays to his strengths.

This was a game that highlighted the need to recruit a more natural forward in the number eight right-back position to really maximize Klopp’s new system, with Mount an obvious candidate.

And more broadly, it was a reality check for the Reds, exposing the work that needs to be done to take possession of champions Manchester City after a winning run that mended some cracks.