Liverpool: Klopp wants Chelsea target; Henderson named England captain; youngsters feature in friendly

By Sam Leveridge

Sky Sports are reporting that Liverpool could mount a surprising move for Burnley central defender Michael Keane after months of speculation linking him with a move to Chelsea. Keane is powerful in the air and has been labelled by some as the next John Terry, having come on leaps and bounds since his departure from Manchester United to sign for Burnley in 2015. Now, he’s a target for many of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

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It’s hard to see why Klopp would want to add Keane to the ranks, particularly given the early season form of Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan who has proven to be one of the summer’s best bargain buys. However, as a young English talent he would certainly be a good addition to the Reds defence if the club can pull off a move for the defender, currently hoping to earn his first England cap against Slovenia tonight.

Another man who will have a night to remember in Slovenia will be Jordan Henderson, who is set to wear the England captain’s armband for the first time in the absence of Wayne Rooney. It marks a remarkable rise since his move from Sunderland to Anfield and caps a superb start to the season for the midfielder.

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Henderson will follow in the footsteps of Steven Gerrard once again in wearing the armband and joins a select group of Liverpool players to have captained England alongside Emlyn Hughes, Michael Owen, Kevin Keegan, Paul Ince and Phil Thompson. That is not including so called “unofficial captains” like Jamie Carragher, Robbie Fowler and Emile Heskey who took the armband during a game.

Back on Merseyside, Jurgen Klopp has been putting his side through their paces with double training sessions and a 2-0 friendly victory over Bradford City on Sunday as the Reds prepare for the clash against Manchester United at the weekend. Most of the first team players not on international duty featured in the friendly, alongside youngsters Ben Woodburn and Rhian Brewster.

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The two 16-year-olds started up front alongside Danny Ings in a front three with Emre Can, Lucas Leiva and Alberto Moreno amongst those to get some game time. Ings and Can were on the scoresheet, with the striker scoring two, alongside James Milner and youngster Yan Dhanda becoming the first Indian born player ever to score for Liverpool in any fixture.

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