For someone who ranks among the five most expensive signings in Liverpool history, Jordan Henderson has a surprisingly low profile.
He likes it that way too.
Yet there is something Henderson is desperate for Reds fans to know about him: He is even more impatient for success than they are.
Early in the season, the midfielder signed from Sunderland for £20m in the summer noticed an anxiety among supporters about their new signings, and a desire to see them make an immediate impact.
As Henderson initially grappled with the settling-in process, Reds boss Kenny Dalglish claimed that, at 21, he was still just a kid and possessed huge potential.
But, as much as he appreciates the gesture from his manager, Henderson doesn’t want to hide behind the ‘promising’ tag.
He wants to deliver right now.
“I think you have to grasp the moment in football. A lot of people tell me I have all the future ahead of me and I need to develop as a player, and I understand that, but for me personally, it is now as well,” he explained.
“I definitely want things now.
"You can’t just always say that it’s for the future. I can understand why people say it - the manager is just protecting me when he says that - but I want to be the best I can now , try to be the best out on the pitch and keep improving.
“That’s the way it should be. I want the pressure of having to deliver now.
"I might get injured or something might happen and I might never play again, so I’ve got to make the most of every game I play in, and that’s how I approach every game.”
It is an attitude that was evident earlier this week, when Henderson struck an unlikely first blow ahead of Saturday’s massive showdown at Old Trafford, by beating Manchester United’s Tom Cleverley at EA Sports’ new Grand Slam Tennis game.
The pair were at the Widnes Tennis Academy in their roles as ambassadors for the company.
During a rather convincing win, Henderson exhibited not only a talent for a sport he says he only played as a kid, but also the drive that took him into the full England team at the age of 20.
“I’d say I’m driven. I always want to do better, I love playing football and that’s all I’ve ever want to do, and yeah, I’d say I’m a serious person about it,” he explained.
“I think I’m driven to try to be the best. I’ve always tried to drive myself out of the comfort zone to get better, which is why I joined Liverpool, I want to become a better player and I want to achieve things in my career.
“I just need to try to improve one or two areas in my game and hopefully things will start paying off.
"I want to be honest with the fans. If you work hard and show that you are giving everything you have got, I don’t think you will have a problem.”
He’s getting there as well.
Henderson did struggle at first, and the fans expected much for the massive price-tag following his move from Wearside.
But his enthusiasm and energy has begun to win the punters over as results have turned around dramatically in recent weeks.
The trip to United presents the next test for a side buoyed by a run of form that has put them reach one cup final and move within sniffing distance of another - and of the top four, too.
The transformation has come following a disastrous display at Bolton, which Henderson admits was “an eye-opener” because of the intense reaction afterwards.
The response from the team though, has suggested to him that the current side is heading towards their natural level.
“I came here to be part of something. Obviously to be part of a winning team, and do the best possible job I can do, but yeah, it feels like I am part of something that is going places,” he explained.
“I think we can go as high as we want this season. There is a really high standard of players, and the club speaks for itself.
"We have a tough run of games coming up, starting with United, but there is certainly a positive feeling around the place at the moment, and it is a club that is going places.
“The reaction at Bolton, it opened the eyes a bit. At Liverpool you are not allowed a game like that. You have to accept that.
"On a personal and collective level, you have to set really high standards. [And] you always have to try and fulfil them.
“We responded in the right way, and it says something. When Liverpool came in for me, that’s the way I looked at it - they are a massive club, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and they are heading in the right direction.”
When he was just three years old, Henderson was hoisted onto the shoulders of United legend Ryan Giggs for a picture.
In a few hours, they will shaking hands as equals.
Well, almost.
It is staggering to think that Giggs is still playing, amazing to think that the toddler who posed for that picture on a Spanish beach in Majorca will be in opposition this weekend.
But given his attitude, it won’t be such a surprise if Henderson reaches the top of his profession - and stays there for a while.
