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Liverpool Tried To Swap Captain Jordan Henderson For Clint Dempsey In 2012

Liverpool Tried To Swap Captain Jordan Henderson For Clint Dempsey In 2012

The captain may have ended up playing for Fulham if he hadn't decided to fight for his place in Brendan Rodgers team.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

On Saturday night Jordan Henderson added his name to the prestigious list of captains to lift the Champions League trophy but things could have been so different if Brendan Rodgers had sold the midfielder in 2012.

There's no doubting now just how important Jordan Henderson has become to Jurgen Klopp's Champions League winning team.

The former Sunderland midfielder has received plenty of criticism in his time as a Reds' midfielder and many would have expected him to have left at some point, even since Klopp took over at the club, but he has proved himself time and again.

On Saturday night he followed in the footsteps of Emlyn Hughes, Phil Thompson, Graeme Souness and Steven Gerrard in the list of Liverpool captains to have lifted the Champions League or European Cup trophy.

It's worth remembering that in a very different parallel universe the 28 year old nearly moved to Fulham in a swap deal for Clint Dempsey.

Brendan Rodgers wanted to sign the American forward in the summer of 2012 and offered the midfielder, who'd only joined from the north east a year before, in exchange.

Speaking to the Telegraph in November 2012, months after the deal fell apart, Henderson said:

"When the manager told me I could go to Fulham it was a bit of a shock at first. What he said came as a sort of bolt from the blue. I think the Dempsey situation had stalled, but it wasn't really of interest to me.

"I worked really had to come to a club like Liverpool and I didn't want to leave in a hurry. I want to stay at Liverpool for as long as I can. I want to keep fighting for my place and I told the manager that. I said I wanted to stay and keep fighting because I believe I can get into the team.

"I just wanted to focus on playing for Liverpool, work hard and get myself into the team. Some people might have thought they'd rather go and play football but I said I will continue to work hard every day, keep fighting and I believe I have the ability to be in the team."

Henderson found himself out of favour at the beginning of Brendan Rodgers' reign. Image: PA Images
Henderson found himself out of favour at the beginning of Brendan Rodgers' reign. Image: PA Images

The previous season Henderson had been part of the League Cup winning team for Kenny Dalglish but the Scotsman had been replaced by Rodgers in the summer.

Dempsey 23 goals in all competitions for Fulham in the 2011/12 season and would move to Spurs in the summer when Liverpool missed out on the forward.

He played just one season in north London, scoring 12 goals in the league before moving back to America with the Seattle Sounders.

Dempsey's form earned him a move to Spurs but he could have been at Liverpool. Image: PA Images
Dempsey's form earned him a move to Spurs but he could have been at Liverpool. Image: PA Images

Liverpool instead signed Fabio Borini that summer and later added Daniel Sturridge to the squad in January, along with Philippe Coutinho.

Klopp, Henderson and all the fans will be very glad that Henderson stayed and that Spurs were the ones who signed Dempsey, how different the world might be now.

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Topics: Spurs, Liverpool, Football News, Transfer stories, Transfer rumours, Tottenham Hotspurs, Jordan Henderson, Transfer news, Champions League, Fulham