Gareth Southgate makes 'whispering' Jordan Henderson claim after Stuart Pearce conversation

England manager Gareth Southgate has hailed Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson and said he has ‘whispering talents’.

Henderson has won 69 caps for England since making his debut in a 2010 friendly against France. He has represented his country at the European Championships in 2012, 2016 and 2020, while he has also featured at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, where he excelled during England’s run to the semi-finals.

He has slipped down the pecking order with the national team over the past year with Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips and Jude Bellingham all impressing and this led to Henderson playing a bit-part role at last summer’s delayed Euro 2020.

However, Southgate, speaking on the ‘Jordan Henderson is Never Done’ documentary, presented by Nike Football, clearly still has huge admiration for the former Sunderland youngster.

Southgate said: “I remember a tucked in midfielder at Sunderland on the right-hand side and his ability to whip really wicked crosses into the box but the conversation that sticks in my mind is with Stuart Pearce [former England Under 21 coach].

“I remember going to watch the [England] Under 21s play and Stuart talking about how he thought this boy was going to be a really top player, how his mentality was going to be able to take him beyond so many others in the group.

“I was struck by that because, at that time, I was still learning about talent, youth development, what are the aspects that really make a difference on that journey.

“We can all spot the obvious talent but what about what they call whispering talents and so that conversation stuck with me forever really because you’re then looking and thinking ‘I’m going to track this kid and see how it all develops and how his career emerges really'”.