30 August 2023 , 21:30
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Jordan Henderson will discover on Thursday whether his move to Saudi Arabia will impact on his chances of going to the Euros.
Former Liverpool captain Henderson, 33, hopes to be in England’s squad for next month’s qualifier with Ukraine and friendly with Scotland. Henderson spoke to England boss Gareth Southgate before making the move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq and was given no promises.
But Henderson, who has won 77 caps, would expect to be in the first squad after moving to Saudi Arabia although his long term prospects are less certain. Southgate has relied heavily on Henderson’s experience in the past and the veteran midfielder is desperate to play in a seventh straight tournament.
But the fear is that the level of football in Saudi Arabia may not be high enough to ensure Henderson keeps his place beyond the first get together at St George’s Park with players reporting up next week. Manchester City midfielder Kelvin Phillips and Manchester United midfielder Harry Maguire also face anxious waits to see if they are in despite losing their places at club level.
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After this international break, England will report for duty again next month for a home friendly against Australia and a qualifier with Italy, before meeting up in November for qualifiers with Malta and North Macedonia.
Henderson has played in three of Al-Ettifaq's opening four matches in the Saudi Pro League this season as Steven Gerrard's side got off to a good start with two victories before a draw and a defeat. But despite the influx of big names, keeping his place in the England squad long-term could prove more difficult.
Henderson has featured in most of Al-Ettifaq's matches this season (Getty Images)One of the players who has previously been unfortunate to miss out, James Ward-Prowse, has started the season in superb form for West Ham and could rival Henderson for his place. Southgate has shown he is prepared to stand by the players he trusts, most evident through his continued selection of Maguire, but there is a line and the England boss is not afraid of making the big decisions.
Southgate revealed his discussion with Henderson prior to his switch from Liverpool and said he would give him a chance to earn a place in his squad. “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?’” Southgate said.
“We would be stupid to do that,” Southgate added. “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.”