Jordan Henderson speaks out on Liverpool transfer ‘rebuild’ claims

Jordan Henderson has rejected claims Liverpool require a large-scale rebuild in the transfer window but admits the squad “will need freshening up” this summer.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita would all be leaving at the end of the season alongside Roberto Firmino, while Arthur Melo will return to Juventus once his loan spell is complete.

With the number of players set to depart on the back of a difficult campaign that could yet see the Reds miss out on next season’s Champions League, it’s been suggested that the club need to bring in a raft of new additions before next term begins.

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Jurgen Klopp is in the market for midfielders this summer and has identified Brighton’s World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister alongside Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Ryan Gravenberch at Bayern Munich as potential targets.

Henderson, though, believes a huge number of arrivals won’t be necessary but accepts that work must be done by the recruitment team to enable Liverpool to challenge for major honours once more.

“I don’t think it’s a rebuild to be honest,” Henderson told PA, at an NHS Charities Together event in Crewe. “I do think there will be new players coming in. A rebuild is changing an entire team – which I don’t think we will be doing.

“I think you have a lot of core players in the team that will still be there and are still in great shape to compete and be successful. But yes, it will need freshening up of course with players leaving and trying to improve the team.

“I am sure players will be coming in at some point to give us a boost and freshen things up a bit and hopefully put us in a good position come the first game of the season.”

The Liverpool captain added: “It’s always a challenge, especially at Liverpool, there will always be challenges for places and to play games. That’s been the case ever since I came to the club. Come pre-season I’ll be ready for the challenge again.

“Motivation never changes really, it is always about improving and being better, individually and as a team. Always new challenges come along, different things will happen and you will have new challenges throughout the season.

“There is always a challenge in football to improve, to be better and that motivation [has] always stayed the same to be successful.

“I’m confident we can reach the levels we are capable of again, definitely. We have shown that over the past six or seven games and it’s about continuing on that path from now until the end of the season and pick up where we left off hopefully.”

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