Morgan Rogers says the ‘fittest player’ at Chelsea has an unfair reputation

A huge 5-1 win over a Bournemouth side – albeit without Alex Scott – has got Chelsea’s start to the season back on track. Henderson was an unlikely hero, having a hand in three goals on Saturday.

Rogers: Much more to Henderson than just adding experience

When Chelsea signed Henderson on a free from Brentford, the belief was that his addition was simply to add some experience. A leader who has been there and done it; a player who is a manager on the pitch.

He’s all of the above, but on Saturday, the England star proved he still has the quality to make an impact on the pitch. Saturday was only his second start for Chelsea, but he scored two and created another one.

Quoted by Times reporter Peter Rutzler, Rogers heaped praise on Henderson. He claimed his reputation is unfair, reminding all that he still has plenty to offer on the pitch – and that he’s Chelsea’s fittest player.

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Rutzler posted on X: “Morgan Rogers was on free-kicks before the international break but came back and learnt Jordan Henderson had jumped the pecking order. ‘They did it behind my back!’ he joked.

“But he had a lot of praise for Henderson’s impact: ‘People said he was too old and you saw (vs Bournemouth) what he does. Everyone in the dressing room knows what he can do,” Rogers continued.

“‘He’s probably still the fittest player at the club, to be honest. He’s a machine. People forget about his football; they just think he’s experienced. He can still play football. He’s won everything in the game.”

Henderson was averaging a goal or an assist every five games

Before his move to Chelsea – which angered Brentford fans – Henderson had clocked up 695 appearances. Scoring 41 career goals at Liverpool, Sunderland, Ajax and other clubs, he had also laid on 87 assists.

A total of 128 involvements in 695 games means Henderson was averaging a goal or assist every 5.4 games before he signed on the dotted line at Cobham. Now, he has three involvements in two matches.

Is Henderson going to continue scoring goals at this rate? Of course not. It is realistic to say he might not score again this season, but Henderson has a rate of a goal or an assist every 60 minutes since his move.

Even Cole Palmer and Rogers aren’t producing that efficiency in front of goal. Palmer is averaging 95.1 minutes, while Rogers is at an impressive 79.5. Is this a new version of Henderson late on in his career?

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