Programme notesJordan Henderson explains pride in Harvey Elliott
Jordan Henderson has paid tribute to Harvey Elliott after an emotional appearance for the 19-year-old at Anfield last weekend.
With a sumptuous curling finish in the sixth minute of Saturday’s Premier League clash with AFC Bournemouth, Elliott provided the second goal of an eventual 9-0 win for Liverpool.
The midfielder was withdrawn at half-time having played his part in putting the Reds in front by five – and the quality of his display came despite having suffered a family bereavement ahead of the match.
Henderson underlines his respect for Elliott’s character and mentality in his programme notes for tonight’s home fixture against Newcastle United.
“I wouldn’t want to single out any of the performances from Saturday because, individually and collectively, all of the boys were right at it. It was a proper team performance from start to finish,” writes the captain.
“But I would like to mention the circumstances that surrounded Harvey Elliott in the build-up to the game because I think the way he dealt with them was incredible, particularly given his age.
“As everyone will now be aware, Harvey’s nan passed away in the week of the game. He was obviously very close to her and, like anyone else who has been in a similar situation, the loss hit him hard. Yet he still had the maturity, the professionalism and the character to go out and perform like he did.
“When I was a young player coming through the ranks at Sunderland I used to think that nothing went wrong in the lives of the first-team lads because in my eyes they were superhuman. I think a lot of people still think like that, but the opposite is true.
“Being a footballer doesn’t give you immunity to personal loss, to family illness, to kids with toothache or any of the other frailties that every human being faces. So like everyone else, you have to be able to deal with them as best you possibly can and Harvey certainly did that.
“Harvey’s ability speaks for itself; you only have to see him with the ball at his feet to see what a talent he is. It is sometimes easy to forget that he is still a teenager, but he still is very young, so performing as well as he did in the situation he was in is something he and his family should be incredibly proud of.
“I know as his captain I was proud of him myself.”