Why Scott McTominay is Manchester United's Jordan Henderson and setting the standards...

[ASFN Admin]

Jurgen Klopp, Gareth Southgate and Sir Alex Ferguson were among the guests at an event in aid of football dementia research on the eve of Liverpool and Manchester United’s Premier League clash last week and it was not long before the subject of Jordan Henderson cropped up. Southgate, the England manager, was full of praise for a key midfield lieutenant and Klopp said his captain’s leadership had been integral to Liverpool ending their 30-year title drought and explained how a thank you letter Henderson had written to each of the coaches on behalf of the playing squad “said everything about him”. The conversation was never going to pass without some reference to Ferguson’s past criticism of Henderson’s “gait” that prompted the former United manager to pull the plug on a planned bid for the then Sunderland midfielder in 2011. Ferguson revealed that United’s medical department was unhappy with Henderson’s running style and, concerned the player could become injury prone, he opted to look elsewhere but the Scot’s regret at the decision was obvious. “We loved him as a player, and he’s proved that now,” Ferguson said. “He’s fantastic. The stories tell me I missed a really good person.” Yet Ferguson’s regret at overlooking Henderson may be tempered in part by a belief that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now has a midfielder with a similar mindset and attributes emerging at Old Trafford. Like the younger Henderson, Scott McTominay’s talents have not always been immediately apparent or fully appreciated by those outside the circle of coaches quick to recognise the professionalism, character and underrated qualities that define both players. But he is a player on whom Solskjaer is leaning increasingly frequently in big matches and, as McTominay prepares to return to the team for the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday, his manager’s decision to hand him the captaincy in the previous round against Watford spoke volumes for the regard in which he is held. Solskjaer said he wanted to see how McTominay coped with the extra responsibility and the player responded with the game’s only goal and a man-of-the-match performance.

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