Rickie Lambert has not been surprised to see Jordan Henderson blossom into a trophy-winning captain for Liverpool.
The pair were teammates at Anfield for one season – 2014-15 – as Lambert joined his boyhood club after five goal-laden years with Southampton.
It was in the September of that campaign when Henderson was appointed Reds vice-captain ahead of his promotion to skipper the next summer.
His talent and dedication made a lasting impression on Lambert, one that made the scenes in Madrid last June – when the midfielder lifted Liverpool’s sixth European Cup – particularly poignant.
“Brilliant, a lovely lad.