Jordan Henderson, Liverpool’s captain, has acknowledged the huge loss to the club that will be caused by the departures of James Milner and Roberto Firmino. The pair, who were signed in the summer of 2015, have been integral to the club’s recent success, and Henderson believes their importance extends beyond just on the pitch. On Milner’s contribution, Henderson said: “A tremendous amount of value to the team. He is such a big character and such a big leader within the team. It will definitely be strange not seeing him at Liverpool next season, he’s been incredible ever since he came to the club. He helped me a lot and other players around him and is probably taken for granted a little bit as a player from the outside but from the inside he has got so much respect from all of the players and all of the staff and we wish him all the very best in whatever his next chapter looks like.”
Firmino, who has returned to training this week after missing six matches with a muscle problem, is due an emotional farewell in Liverpool’s final home match of the season against Aston Villa on Saturday. The much-loved Brazil international travelled with the squad for Monday’s win over Leicester and the away fans dedicated more than 10 minutes of the second half to singing about him. Henderson added: “He will be a huge miss also. The good energy he gives the team is always so positive, he’s always in a good mood and smiling but his quality on the pitch is unbelievable. Thankfully he is back in training and hopefully he can be ready if not at the weekend then maybe the last game of the season. But you have seen the reception he got on Monday from the fans and rightly so. I am sure that will be the case again on Saturday.”