Henderson targets immediate impact

Liverpool’s new 20 million-pound signing Jordan Henderson believes he is ready to make an immediate impact at Anfield.

The former Sunderland midfielder joined Liverpool on Thursday, and is aware of the amount of quality talent in the midfield already at the club.

But Henderson does not see why he cannot win a first-team place immediately, even with captain Steven Gerrard fit.

“I spoke to the manager and he said he thinks I can play in a few positions,” Henderson said.

“I’m not really bothered, all I care about is making sure that I’m in the starting XI and playing regular football.”

“Of course, there’ll be competition at any big club that you go to. I’ve got make sure that I work extremely hard and do everything I can to make sure I’m starting in the team.”

“I think that if I train well and work hard I’ll get my chance – and I’ll take it as well.”

“They have a great manager and great players and I felt as though I could improve there and learn a lot.”

Henderson moved to downplay comparisons between himself and Gerrard, and said he was looking forward to learning alongside the England international.

“That’s a massive compliment, given what Steven Gerrard has achieved in the game over a long period of time,” he said.

“He’s one of the best players in the world and hopefully I can go there and learn a lot from him.”

“As a kid, Gerrard was one of my idols, along with David Beckham, so it will be special to play alongside him.”