The England Under-21 international was manager Kenny Dalglish's first signing of the summer, arriving from the Stadium of Light in a £16million deal.

Surprise was expressed at the time about the size of the fee but Henderson cannot do anything about that.

First and foremost he has to fight his way into the side, with three of Dalglish's four recruits so far being midfielders.

Henderson, along with fellow newcomers Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing, will face plenty of competition for places in the coming weeks.

But when he does get his chance he knows he has to perform.

"Liverpool is a massive club and I'm grateful to be part of it," he said on www.liverpoolfc.tv.

"It probably hasn't sunk in properly yet, but I'll keep working hard, keep doing the things I was doing at Sunderland and hopefully I can improve.

"There are big expectations and demands but that comes with football.

"You're going to get that wherever you go and it's about how you deal with it.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'll just keep working as hard as I possibly can and hopefully I can put some good performances in for Liverpool."

The 21-year-old was one of Sunderland's best performers last season and deservedly won their young player of the year award.

But when Liverpool came in for him he admits the transfer happened in something of a blur, especially as he was focusing on the England Under-21s' European Championship campaign.

His international duty resulted in a delayed return to pre-season training but in the short time Henderson has spent with Dalglish - the player only started at Melwood last week - he has been impressed by the Scot.

"Everyone knows what he is like, he is a brilliant manager and just as brilliant as a person," said the midfielder.

"He's been great with me and with everyone and he is someone that you look up to.

"The manager is one of the best managers around and he can help me with my own career and with the rest of the lads as well.

"I think that's great for everyone and I'm looking forward to working with him and everybody else."

Henderson made his first appearance in a Reds shirt in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at npower Championship side Hull and hopes to get another run-out against Galatasaray in Istanbul tomorrow.

"I'm looking forward to Galatasaray," he added.

"It'll be tough but a good match for us to prepare for the start of the season by working on a few things, gelling as a team and getting a little bit more used to each other.

"I enjoyed the break - it was good to have a little rest - but as soon as it was over I was chomping at the bit to get involved and start training again.

"It was good to get out there and start playing again at Hull, especially with being new to the club.

"I've only been back in training for a week or two so I'm just trying to get my fitness levels as high as possible.

"I'm looking forward to the season and can't wait for it to get underway."

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One of the players not worrying about competition for places this season is forward Milan Jovanovic, who has been told he is surplus to requirements at Anfield.

A return to Belgium - he signed on a free transfer from Standard Liege a year ago - appears most likely and discussions have taken place with Anderlecht.

However, the stumbling block is the 30-year-old's wages as he is on a reported £65,000-a-week at Liverpool.

There has also been interest from teams in the Middle East but Jovanovic would prefer to remain in Europe in order to maintain his international career with Serbia.

"There is a gap between what we can offer and what the player gets at Liverpool," said Anderlecht general manager Herman van Holsbeeck.

But Jovanovic's representative Dejan Veljkovic is confident a deal can be done.

"Milan will definitely come to Anderlecht," he told Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium.

"We are talking again and everything looks good: the sporting aspects, financial, contributions.

"We are still a few solutions [away] but there is movement."