Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy ponders Cardiff City return as Jordan Henderson is backed by Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool's Craig Bellamy is giving deep consideration to a move away from Liverpool, with Cardiff City wanting to take him back.

The pressure for places is about to get more intense for Bellamy, with manager Brendan Rodgers having secured the £11m signature on Roma's Fabio Borino, as The Independent reported on Wednesday.

QPR manager Mark Hughes, who brought Bellamy to Manchester City from West Ham United, would like to take the 32-year-old too, which may complicate the picture. But the allure of being close to his family is likely to make Cardiff Bellamy's preferred option. Bellamy played a season on loan at the club in 2010/11 and was arguably Kenny Dalglish's best signing after joining Liverpool on a free transfer last season.

It is Jordan Henderson whom Rodgers sees as Liverpool's future. He believes he was subjected to unreasonable levels of expectation in his first season and appears to view him as a far more important part of the future than either Joe Cole, Alberto Aquilani or indeed Bellamy.

The manager, who is not seeking to buy Swansea City’s Joe Allen to bolster his midfield, is also effusive in his appreciation of Maxi Rodriguez whom he does want to stay at Anfield – though that outcome is unlikely with the 31-year-old wanting more time on the field than he is getting.

The new manager said: “I look at the young kid Jordan Henderson who got a wee bit of stick last year but do you know what, this is a boy who is 21 years of age. I thought when I first saw him at Sunderland that this kid is going to be a really good player. He’s then coming out here for a bucket load of money; coming to a massive club, massive expectation. He moves away from home, he is on his own and he has to be a world beater straight away. It was never going to happen. Never going to happen. But this kid can play football. If he is in a certain system - in an environment which is going to help him and educate him in the game - you will see that. And the biggest thing for me that I’ve heard about Jordan is his attitude. He has got an incredible attitude. If you have got a player like that who has got the ability and the thirst to learn - he can run all day, he is physically good, he is strong, he is quick – and you can remodel him, you can end up getting the value you paid for the player.”

Rodgers said he would “absolutely love” to retain Maxi Rodriguez, one of Rafael Benitez’s last signings. “But sometimes there are issues that surround that; that is what I am speaking to him about now. He doesn’t speak the language, it has been difficult for his family. If a player like him, for example, wanted to leave, it would not be because of the club.”