The pair played together at Sunderland under former manager Steve Bruce before Bent moved on to Aston Villa and Henderson’s transfer to Liverpool. Bent told talkSPORT: “You always knew he had the dedication. When we were at Sunderland he was a young kid then, maybe 18. “There had been a lot of talk about him, he’d been linked to everyone, but he got his head down, worked hard and set a good example. “I always knew he would go on to become something special. He would call out senior players. It takes a lot of courage to call out senior players when they weren’t pulling their weight, he was giving them a rollocking… at 18. “Even in training, he didn’t want his team to lose possession of the ball, he didn’t want to lose a five-a-side. In other news, reports have suggested that ex-Sunderland flop Jack Rodwell could be set to link-up with another former Wearsider, Dwight Yorke. Rodwell was a major signing for Sunderland from Manchester City in the summer of 2014 for a free of around £10 million But he struggled to make a consistent impact and as the club dropped into the Championship, he was the only player in the squad not to have a wage reduction written into his contract. It became a source of major contention when he made few appearances in the following campaign as the club were again relegated. Rodwell made just six appearances, three of which were in the EFL trophy. His last appearance came in that competition in November 2017. Sunderland offered Rodwell the chance to walk away from his contract the following January, but it was not until the following summer that he reached an agreement with Stewart Donald to end his contract early, subsequently playing for Sheffield United, Blackburn Rovers and most recently Western Sydney Wanderers. However, Rodwell has been released from his contract but could be set to join Macarthur, managed by Yorke, according to the website football FTBL