Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been tipped to become a manager with a former teammate revealing he called out senior players at Sunderland as a teenager.
Henderson burst onto the scene as a youngster at the north east club, before getting a £20million to the Reds in 2011.
Henderson came through the Sunderland academy before joining Liverpool in 2011
He has gone on to become a club legend, racking up 449 appearances and skippering the side to Premier League and Champions League success.
The 32-year-old has been real driving force behind Liverpool's success and former Sunderland teammate Darren Bent says he showed it from a young age.
He told talkSPORT: "You always knew he had the dedication. When we were at Sunderland he was a young kid then, maybe 18.
"There had been a lot of talk about him, he'd been linked to everyone, but he got his head down, worked hard and set a good example.
"I always knew he would go on to become something special. He would call out senior players. It takes a lot of courage to call out senior players when they weren't pulling their weight, he was giving them a rollocking… at 18.
"Even in training, he didn't want his team to lose possession of the ball, he didn't want to lose a five-a-side.
Bent recalled how Henderson was not afraid to call out senior players
"We knew he had that determination and passion. I always knew he would succeed.
"What you didn't want to happen when he left for Liverpool was for people to compare him to Steven Gerrard.
"Steven Gerrard is a great of the Premier League and they are two completely different players. I wanted people to judge him in his own rights.
"Now people realise how good and important he has been to Liverpool."
Henderson has overseen one of the most successful periods in Liverpool's recent history
Henderson has only just turned 32 and will still likely have a few more years playing left, but he would likely be a candidate to go on and become a manager one day.
When asked if Henderson would want to become a manager, Bent added: "100 per cent. I can't see him retiring, calling it a day and just playing golf. He will want to do something and he could be a manager.
"It also wouldn't surprise me if one day he went back to Sunderland."
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