Jordan Henderson’s selection has become the major talking point of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, with a feeling of looking back rather than forward from the new Three Lions boss.
Henderson has been out of the spotlight domestically and internationally since he was last picked for England in March 2024, shortly after the end of his controversial move to Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq, which broke down only six months after joining from Liverpool.
The booing which greeted his substitution during his final round of appearances during the November internationals in 2023, amid rising criticism for moving to the Middle East after previously being seen as an ambassador for the LGBTQ+ community, appeared to point towards an unsavoury end to an England career which had taken Henderson to 81 caps and six international tournaments.
That looked even more likely after he failed to make a single England appearance in 2024, and did not appear in any of Gareth Southgate or Lee Carsley’s squads after the March internationals last year.
So why has Tuchel, a man with little time to build a squad capable of winning next summer’s World Cup – when his contract as head coach expires – decided to put his faith in the 34-year-old now?
“I was not surprised [he was called up],” Ajax boss Francesco Farioli told Sky Sports following his selection. “He’s a player who can bring many things.
Ajax boss Francesco Farioli admits he’s not surprised at Jordan Henderson’s call-up to the England squad after the midfielder was selected by Thomas Tuchel
“The age, the passport, these are just factors because with his mentality and his professionalism, it’s not something which is declining.
“Now England is rebuilding and building a new story, I think they definitely need these kinds of players and especially human beings.”
Tuchel can and already has pointed to Henderson’s qualities as a leader in a squad including 15 players with fewer than 10 senior caps – while he is its third-most capped player – and most of his defence of the selection of the 34-year-old has centred around his personal qualities.
He has labelled the ex-Liverpool skipper a “serial winner”, having won both the Champions League and Premier League at Anfield, and said he raises standards around him.
That is something that has been a hallmark of Henderson’s career. You don’t captain a Jurgen Klopp team unless you lead, and lead by example.
Sky Sports News senior reporter Rob Dorsett was on hand to watch Thomas Tuchel’s first training session as England manager
Even so, that may not be enough to pacify the frustrations Adam Wharton, Kobbie Mainoo and Conor Gallagher must have, especially when all three were named in the 26-man squad for last summer’s Euros and the latter scored against Real Madrid in a Champions League knock-out game last week.
Henderson cannot argue he is playing at the same standard as any of that trio, or that he is at the same level as he was at his peak. But Tuchel is no fool, and though the midfielder’s selection is understandably divisive there is logic behind it.
In an England squad that includes only three conventional central midfielders – and Jude Bellingham has barely played there since joining Real Madrid – there is a good chance Henderson will get at least some game time against Albania and Latvia over the international break.
With that in mind, there is no chance Tuchel has picked Henderson for his temperament alone, and his stats in the Eredivisie this season do make impressive reading.
Despite dropping back into a No 6 role under Farioli, he is playing more as an all-action midfielder than ever – he wins the ball back in his own third more regularly than almost any other central midfielder in the league, but also has the fourth-highest rate of completed passes in the final third.
The Ajax team he leads sit six points clear at the top of Eredivisie, something in itself that deserves more credit than it will receive especially turning round the fortunes of a club that endured such a tumultuous season in 2023/24.
Whether or not that can transfer into rebuilt bridges with the England support at Wembley over the next week feels a tough ask but, for now, he is Tuchel’s man.
