Henderson sees 'no reason' he can't continue England career despite Saudi switch

09 August 2023 , 10:29

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Henderson sees 'no reason' he can't continue England career despite Saudi switch

Jordan Henderson is confident he can continue playing for England despite making the switch to Saudi Arabia.

The former Liverpool captain opted to leave Anfield to take up a lucrative offer with Al-Ettifaq as the Saudi Pro League look to attract major names from Europe. Henderson will now be playing away from the spotlight in a competition that is deemed to be a lower standard than those in Europe.

Henderson has become a major leader with the Three Lions and has appeared in the last six tournaments. The new Al-Ettifaq skipper will begin his season this month and believes strong performances can see him feature for the Three Lions ahead of the European Championships this summer.

He said: "I'm focused on playing for Ettifaq and playing my best. If I'm doing that then there's no reason why I can't play for England, as the gaffer said. Obviously we spoke over the last few weeks about it because playing for England means a lot to me and I feel as though I can still bring a lot to the team as I have in the last few games in the World Cup.

"So I still feel as though I can bring a lot. But at the same time I've got to do my job here and if I can do that then hopefully I can make the team as normal."

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Henderson sought assurances from Gareth Southgate that a move east would not impact his ability to be picked for the Three Lions. At the World Cup back in the winter the 33-year-old featured in four of the games, scoring against Senegal, and Southgate isn't closing the door for any player.

Jordan Henderson has been a stalwart with England (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

He told TalkSport : “I spoke to him in the summer, the question he wanted to know was: ‘If I move here, are you going to automatically rule me out?’ We would be stupid to do that. Why would we rule anyone out based on where they are playing? We have got to see how they are playing. We have an idea of what [the Saudi] league will look like, but we won’t know until we actually start to see the games.”

Henderson is battling with several young talents for an England starting role as the likes of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice begin to make themselves regulars. Phil Foden and Mason Mount are also options for Southgate as the Three Lions look to end their wait for silverware.

Steven Gerrard, who played alongside Henderson at Liverpool, will be the man making the decisions at Al-Ettifaq after taking the manager's job.

Samuel Meade