TOM COLLOMOSSE: Jordan Henderson may feel a tinge of regret as he watches Liverpool’s chase for four trophies from afar – he would have been a natural leader for Klopp’s kids
- The former Liverpool captain is preparing to face Aston Villa with his Ajax side
- Henderson left Merseyside club after booking a move to Saudi team Al-Ettifaq
- Liverpool can’t play a weakened team that says they can’t be bothered in Europe just to be ready for Man City – It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Jordan Henderson has spent this week trying to plot the downfall of one Premier League club when he should really be trying to win the thing with another.
The former England captain is attempting to propel Ajax, one of Europe’s giants, towards their 11th continental title. Meanwhile Liverpool, the club he left in an ill-advised switch to the Saudi Pro League, are chasing four trophies this season. They take on Aston Villa for a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, with the first leg in Holland on Thursday.
Publicly, Henderson would doubtless make all the right noises about his career choices since last summer. Yet privately, he would not be human if he did not have even a tinge of regret when he looks at how Liverpool’s spectacular season is unfolding.
When Henderson left Anfield to move to Al-Ettifaq last summer, it was not solely because of the £700,000 weekly salary on offer. The 33-year-old did not believe he would feature regularly in Jurgen Klopp’s reconfigured midfield this term and did not want to finish his time on Merseyside as an also-ran.
Yet Liverpool have suffered so many injury problems this season that Henderson would surely have played his part. Think of the recent run of matches, when Klopp has used a number of academy products because of the absence of several first-teamers.
Jordan Henderson is preparing to face old Premier League rivals Aston Villa with his Ajax side
The former Liverpool captain booked a move to the Dutch club after an ill-fated move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq
Henderson may feel a tinge of regret after having opted to forge a new path away from Anfield at the end of last season
What better player than Henderson, such a natural leader, to guide the youngsters through those games? And after Liverpool overcame Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final in February, he would now have another medal to add to his collection.
By leaving Al-Ettifaq only six months and 17 games after joining, Henderson admitted he had made a huge error. Not even such fabulous wages could compensate for the loss of top-level football in Europe and Henderson took his first route out, cancelling his contract to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal with Ajax. The prospect of missing out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this summer’s European Championship was also prominent in his thinking.
‘I’ve got full respect for the league and Al-Ettifaq the club and the people over there,’ said Henderson in January. ‘They really made me feel welcome. Unfortunately sometimes these things in life just don’t work out, in football and life in general.
‘I’m in contact with Gareth regularly, as I have been for many years. That hasn’t changed. He is like that with all the players.
‘You know how close he is to the lads. I’ve always got the Euros and England in mind. It is a big thing playing for my country. That has been always been the case wherever I’ve played.
‘Ultimately I’ve got to be doing my job on the pitch for Ajax and then hopefully I’ll be called up for England.’
Henderson claimed the Carabao Cup at Wembley as the skipper just over two seasons ago
Jurgen Klopp’s youth-infused side won their first silverware of the season last month
Henderson has not found life easy in the Eredivisie, even as Ajax improve on their dreadful start to the campaign. They meet Villa fifth in the table but their 2-0 win over Utrecht on March 3 was Henderson’s first win in five appearances for the club.
Henderson is a smart man and will understand his role at Ajax. He was clever enough not to request his preferred No14 shirt when joining as that was the one worn by Johan Cruyff. As Ajax guide yet another promising generation towards successful careers in the game, Henderson should be an ideal example for them.
Rather than fulfilling this role for Jorrel Hato, Devyne Rensch and Kenneth Taylor, however, Henderson could be doing the same for Conor Bradley, Bobby Clark and Jayden Danns. And however he might tell the story in Amsterdam with a microphone in front of him, Henderson will surely have moments where he wonders what might have been.
