Jordan Henderson decision backfires as Jürgen Klopp favorites set for England recognition

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and center-back Jarell Quansah are expected to be named on the longlist for England later today ahead the summer's European Championship. But former Reds captain Jordan Henderson, who left last summer to sign for Al Ettifaq, is set to miss out.

That is according to The Athletic, with Gareth Southgate set to name an initial list of players for the summer before that later gets reduced down to 26. Henderson has been capped 81 times by England to date and has been a regular for Southgate but the 33-year-old's season did not go to plan. Jones and Quansah, meanwhile, have never previously been called up for the Three Lions at senior level, but have been regulars at U21 level.

Henderson moved to the Saudi Pro League a year ago but then canceled that contract and moved to Ajax in the winter. While shirt sales in the Netherlands shot up instantly upon his arrival, it is now unclear, after the Eredivisie side underperformed this year, whether it can afford to keep him next season.

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In his first interview after the controversial switch to Saudi Arabia last summer, Henderson explained that his decision was based partly on wanting to play for England at another major tournament — despite multiple Saudi Pro League teams being rated similarly to National League sides in the English fifth tier.

"If I’m not playing, as anybody will know, especially the manager, that can be quite difficult for me, especially when I’ve been at a club for so long and I’ve captained the team for so long," Henderson told The Athletic. "Especially when England’s a big thing for me. You’ve got the Euros coming up.

"And then there was an approach from Al Ettifaq to the club to see if it would be possible for me to go there. The reaction from the club again wasn’t to say no. At that moment, I felt as though my value or the want for me to stay, with the manager and within the club, maybe it had shifted. I knew that time would come at some point. I didn’t think it would be now. And I had to accept that.

"I'm at the latter stage of my career and I want to be happy playing football. I want to play. I don’t want to be sitting on the bench and coming on for 10 minutes in games. And I knew that would have an effect on my chances of playing for England."

It appears, though, as if Henderson's decision to move to the Middle East and then Ajax has backfired when it comes to getting into the England squad. He captained Ajax five times in the Eredivisie but missed as many matches through injury, including the one where Arne Slot's Feyenoord hammered the famous Dutch side 6-0.

The former Liverpool captain sent a message of thanks to Jurgen Klopp over the weekend after the German's departure. "Thank you for everything Boss @Kloppo," he wrote on Instagram, alongside a greyscale photograph of the pair.

Liverpool.com says: It is a shame that Henderson made the wrong call to move to Saudi Arabia, but he might not have made the England squad even had he stayed with Liverpool. There are a lot of good players in that position for Southgate to choose, though many suspected that he might be in the squad for his experience and leadership values.