Legend blasts: £20m Liverpool star is 'nowhere near' good enough to be an 'all-time great'

After rejecting an improved contract offer, Reds midfielder Jordan Henderson is reportedly holding out for a massive £100k-a-week contract, and this has enraged management legend Harry Redknapp, who insists that Hendo should stop stalling and sign a new deal ASAP.

Earlier this week, the Daily Mail claimed:

* Henderson [Cost: £20m] has rejected a five-year deal worth £80,000 per week.

* He wants £100k-a-week before committing his long-term future.

In a recent interview, Henderson claimed that there's no issue about signing a new deal. He told reporters:

"I love playing football for Liverpool and I want to be there for many years. In terms of my contract, I think everybody else will make a big deal of it but for me it's just letting my agent and the club deal with it and whenever it gets sorted, it gets sorted"

Responding to the contract impasse, a clearly irritated Redknapp argued that Henderson should 'thank his lucky stars' that he's at a club like Liverpool, and suggested that he's not worth such a massive salary. He told Talksport:

"Henderson [has] done well but he has still got a long way to go to be one of the all-time Liverpool greats. He is nowhere near that at the moment"

Redknapp is spot on. Henderson is not some irreplaceable superstar - he is achieving the level of performance expected of a first-choice midfielder at a top-class club.

Henderson's current level of performance is what Rodgers/fans should expect of him all the time; he doesn't deserve extra credit - or a massive pay-rise - for basically doing what he should be doing.

Additionally, as Redknapp states, Henderson is 'nowhere near' being an all-time great for Liverpool, yet like Sterling, he's demanding obscene wages to stay at the club (even if he's doing so in a less visible manner).

That said, there's a clear difference between the Henderson and Sterling contract situations:

* After months of being sickeningly deified by Rodgers, pundits, and the fanbase, Sterling's ego is out of control. He's drunk on his own hype, driven by opportunist greed, and recently disrespected the club by conducting an unprofessional, unauthorised interview, which was arguably motivated by blatant self-interest.

* Henderson has allegedly requested a comparatively fair pay-rise, commensurate with ability, improvement, impact, and experience. He's not demanding a figure that's grossly underserved, or outside Liverpool's salary structure (Gerrard, Suarez, Johnson et al are/were on more), and he's handled himself in a professional manner at all times.

In my view, Henderson deserves £100K-a-week much more than Sterling deserves £150k+-a-week, and if only one of the two has to stay, then I chose Liverpool's captain-elect.

Author: Jaimie K