WHEN the call came earlier this week for Jonjo Shelvey to be brought into the senior England squad, Jordan Henderson would have been forgiven a wry smile.

Mere months ago, Henderson was the young Liverpool midfielder to which Roy Hodgson turned as injuries decimated his Euro 2012 squad.

That, though, was typical of the rollercoaster ride the 22-year-old has travelled since moving to Anfield from Sunderland in June 2011.

The departure of the man who brought him to the club, Kenny Dalglish, and the arrival of Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager has presented a new set of challenges for Henderson.

Not least given Rodgers attempt to sell the player to Fulham during his ultimately futile effort to sign Clint Dempsey on transfer deadline day.

Indeed, having started both the League and FA Cup finals last season, Henderson has yet to begin a Premier League match under Rodgers.

New arrivals Joe Allen and Nuri Sahin, along with the continued development of Shelvey, have intensified the competition for places in central midfield.

But Henderson, despite being restricted largely to Europa League and Capital One Cup duty, remains confident of making his mark at Anfield.

“I’ve benefited from my time here,” he says.

“I’ve learned plenty and there have been lots of positives.

“I feel I’ve improved as a player and that’s pleasing. Now I want to continue working hard and improving more.

“Brendan Rodgers likes his teams to play a certain way and I think we’re already used to that. Everyone here has taken the manager’s playing style on board and it’s working well.

“We’ve played some really good football in the last few weeks, against Manchester United, West Brom and Norwich.

“I think the longer we spend working with the manager, the better the team will become.”