England may not have a creative fulcrum, but Jordan Henderson says they can prove otherwise

Jordan Henderson meets the question with a thin smile. It’s buried in platitudes, of course, like most questions of its nature, but the subtext is obvious, and Henderson can spot it a mile off. The question, in toto and stripped of its caveats, is this: why on earth can’t England produce creative midfielders?

It’s a question brought into focus by England’s bold but ultimately unfulfilled World Cup campaign, when they plundered plenty of goals from set pieces but relatively few from open play. It was brought into sharper focus by the way of their struggles against Croatia in the semi-final and Belgium in the third-place play-off, two countries with abundant options for controlling the game and dictating the tempo in the middle of the pitch: De Bruyne, Modric, Dembele, Rakitic, Kovacic.

And it’s sharpened still further by England’s current Nations League opponents. If their goalless rematch with Croatia on Friday night was on the drab side of acceptable, then Spain on Monday night pose an even sterner test. They outplayed England at Wembley in September, and boast at least three creative midfielders – Isco, Koke, Thiago, possibly several others besides – who would walk straight into the England team without complaint.

In short, virtually every major European country with pretensions to grandeur has one. England’s closest equivalent, by contrast, is probably Henderson himself: a bustling, busy midfielder, a competent short passer and a decent long passer, but by his own admission not a string-puller or a defence-splitter. Where is England’s Modric, De Bruyne, Kroos, Verratti?

Henderson’s response bears reading. He doesn’t bat the question aside, as others might do. But he disagrees with the idea that England have a creativity deficit in midfield.

“Everybody’s got their own opinion,” he says. “I understand that type of player is rare to come by. But we’ve also got different types of players. If I look at Dele [Alli] and Jesse [Lingard] who play in that similar position... I feel they’re creative players. They create and score goals. If you look at the young lads that have come in, Jadon [Sancho] has the most assists in Europe. I feel we have got creative players. We just need to go out and prove it.”

What of Henderson himself, a man once briefly anointed as England’s midfield general, but now deployed – for both club and country – as more of a sentinel, facilitating play for more attacking players further up the pitch? “For me, obviously, it’s a different role,” he says. “I’m playing more of a deeper role, a more disciplined role. Now and again you may be picking a pass or two in behind, making something happen, but when we’re attacking – especially at Liverpool – I’m focusing on protection, being disciplined, being careful, worrying about counter-attacks, things like that. So it’s hard to do both.”

To be fair, Gareth Southgate’s lineup on Friday night, selecting Ross Barkley ahead of Henderson and Eric Dier, was evidence that he has given the matter some thought. As he explained after the game, England’s back five has had a tendency to get stuck in possession. Time and again in the World Cup semi-final, England’s midfield would pick up the ball to find their wing-backs pinned back, and only two players in front of them.

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So for this game, Southgate reverted to a 4-3-3, offering an extra runner ahead of the ball, who may also be supported by attacking full-backs. Barkley had a quiet first half but played some decent forward passes in the second, and although England failed to hit the net, they created a decent volume of chances, and almost as importantly enjoyed 54 per cent of possession in a tough away game.

“Tactically, we can adapt in different ways in games against good opposition,” says Henderson. “Technically we always want to improve, and we’ve got fantastic ability in the squad, so I don’t think that’s an issue. We came such a long way in the summer, but there’s still a way for us to get where we want to be, and that’s basically to be the best team in the world.”

Henderson will be suspended for the Spain game after picking up a second booking on Friday night. But in a way, he will still have a job to do. One of Southgate’s innovations on becoming England coach was to divide the squad into discussion groups, according to position. Henderson is a key part of the midfield meeting, where players are encouraged to speak up, discuss tactics, put forward their own opinions, and – crucially – ask questions. Too often England have looked like a group of players not only not on the same page, but barely even in the same book.

It’s just one of the ways in which, Henderson believes, Southgate differs from Jurgen Klopp, his manager at Liverpool. “Gareth gives more ownership to the players as a group,” he says. “He wants the players to have their own input and speak up, whether that’s on the field or off the field. In club football, Jurgen very much does everything, and we follow. We listen and we follow him. Of course we’ve still got leaders in the group, but more often than not we just, sort of... do what he says.”

He’s seen plenty of changes in his eight years of international duty, from Capello to Southgate via Hodgson and Allardyce, and at the tender age of 28 is the grandfather of the squad, his 47 caps the most of any player. “Yes and no,” he replies, when asked whether he feels he himself has changed in that time. “I feel as though I’ve matured. But at the same time, I still feel like I’m the same person as I was eight years ago. I still feel quite young. Until you start reeling things like that off…”

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Given his experience, then, who does he feel is best equipped to fulfil England’s creative destiny? “Probably the biggest one that I’d look at as that type of player is Adam Lallana,” he says. “There’s not many that play like Adam. He’s unique in how he links the play. He’s so good on the ball, he’s got a great work ethic, and he still does the defensive work.

“We’ve missed him. Not so long ago he was England’s player of the year. He’s had a long period out, he just needs to come back and get a run of games and he’ll be stronger for it. If he stays fit he can still have a massive impact. Now I see him in training, it’s like he’s never been away. He is such a big talent.”

For now, Lallana is continuing his rehabilitation at Liverpool, and Henderson will watch from the sidelines while England take on a test that will give them a true measure of where they stand in the footballing firmament. Henderson nods when asked whether Luis Enrique’s side are still the team to beat.

“Spain are a fantastic team and fantastic squad of players, he says. “If you look at the World Cup when they sacked the manager the day before, they didn’t do as well as you thought they would have done. But as a team, they’re fantastic. That’s the level you have to be at. And that’s where we want to be: competing against the very best.”