The Liverpool captain announced his retirement from international duty earlier in July and his team-mate has now urged the younger players to step up and prove their worth

Jordan Henderson has hailed Steven Gerrard as “irreplaceable” and believes England’s young players need to show their worth in his absence.

Liverpool captain Gerrard announced his retirement from the international scene earlier in July after 14 years’ service with the national side and on the back of the Three Lions’ worst ever showing at the World Cup.

Roy Hodgson’s squad was filled with youthful talent and Henderson, who has been touted as one man who could fill the hole left by the departing Gerrard, has called on those players to step up.

“Let’s face it, you can never replace a player like Steven Gerrard because he’s probably the best player this country has ever seen – so yes, he’s irreplaceable,” Henderson is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

“I don’t think you even necessarily try to fill that void. He is a one-off, I see him every day [at Liverpool] and I don’t think there is any player like him.

“But what we have to do is develop the young talent coming through, and there is a lot of it. We’ve got to give them space to go and show how good they are.

“The likes of myself, Jack [Wilshere], Ross [Barkley] or whoever is in the England team need to take more responsibility, step up to the plate and take more of a leadership role if needed.”

The midfielder struck against Manchester City in New York on Wednesday night but only notched five times last season, with his manager hoping he now hits double figures

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers wants more goals from midfielder Jordan Henderson this season.

The Reds got the better of Manchester City in the International Champions Cup on Wednesday, winning 3-1 on penalties, with the England international netting in normal time.

It was a rare goal for Henderson, who had only managed a total of five in all competitions last season, but Rodgers has challenged the 24-year-old to hit double figures in the new season.

“That’s the objective for Jordan [to get more goals],” the Northern Irishman told reporters after the game. “The finish he produced to get the equaliser, he does that day in, day out in training.

“He’s a player that is so fit and strong, and he’s such a team player – he does a lot of unselfish work. This year we’re asking him to get more into the box.

“I thought he had more opportunities when he played just around the corner [of the striker] in the last 20 minutes of the game – he was able to time his runs better going forward and he got in a few times.

“That’s his strength – he can really penetrate the defensive line. I would expect him to be getting up to 10 goals this season because he has the quality and tactical awareness to arrive into the area to do that.”

Despite spending around €113 million in recent weeks, the manager is still looking for new recruits as he prepares for the club’s return to the Champions League this season

Brendan Rodgers is keen to further bolster his Liverpool squad, insisting the club “still have business to do” this summer.

Emre Can, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren, Lazar Markovic and Divock Origi have already arrived for a combined fee of around €113 million following Luis Suarez’s €88m move to Barcelona.

Sevilla left-back Alberto Moreno has been touted as the next arrival at Anfield, with the Liga outfit demanding €23m for the player, and Rodgers is hoping to have secured his targets by the end of the transfer window.

“We still have some positions that we want to fill within the squad so that by the end of August we have a strong group of players to go forward with,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“We’ve still got some business to do.”

Liverpool heavy investment has been likened to Tottenham’s €120m spree as Gareth Bale left last summer, which heightened expectations only for the north London outfit to finish sixth in the league.

Rodgers rejected such comparisons earlier this week, adding: “Clearly we were not strong enough last season in terms of numbers and quality.

“We always planned to bring in a number of players, hoping we were going to be in the Champions League, so it would give us the opportunity to challenge on all fronts.”