Manchester United and Liverpool are two of the biggest rivals in European football.
They are the two most successful clubs in England and their rivalry is not confined to 90 yards of the turf. Over the years, the two sets of fans have found peculiar reasons to pull each other’s leg and assert their dominance.
According to recent reports, Gareth Southgate, who has been appointed as the manager of the England team for four years, has decided who will lead his side in years to come.
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney is currently the skipper of the side, thanks to his experience but lack of form has seen him getting dropped from most games this season.
Southgate respects the seniority of the Manchester United man but reports suggest the English manager is looking to hand over the captaincy to the current Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson.
The 46-year-old manager signed a new a four-year contract worth about £1.8 million a year and has already decided his next step after being appointed for the long term.
And it is revealed the manager is keen on asserting his dominance on the side and the first thing he wants to do is strip Rooney of the captaincy and hand it over to former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson.
Speaking the media recently, FA technical director Dan Ashworth said, “Gareth will be starting to think about some of the changes he wants to make for March and going forwards. Like any new manager does in any position, they want to stamp their own personality on it, make a few changes and make it more like his own.”
The Liverpool midfielder, who has been the club captain for more than a year now, has already led the English side in the absence of Wayne Rooney and it is understood Southgate is impressed with his returns and is ready to offer him the arm-band from the next round of fixtures.
Henderson is currently the most effective mid-fielder in the Premier League, at least according to his stats, and is also consistently putting in decent performances.
His win percentage with Liverpool is also on the high side and there is hardly any doubt that he is a capable captain.
However, there are calls for Southgate to appoint a more senior member of the squad as the skipper and it remains to be seen what the new manger of England decides to do for the next round of qualifiers.
Do you think Henderson is the right man to lead England?