As one of English football’s next generation of talent, the former Sunderland midfielder’s career appeared to be on the right track having worked his way through their youth team and spent time out on loan before breaking into the first team at the Stadium of Light. A premature call up to the England squad meant Henderson’s stock rose quickly and instead of building on his experiences in the North East for a couple more seasons, the playmaker was snapped up by big spending Liverpool far too soon. At a reported £15-20m, the home grown youngster fell victim to a massively overpriced transfer fee and despite playing at Euro 2012 this summer, has never looked like filling Steven Gerrard’s illustrious boots.
