Jordan Henderson has congratulated Virgil van Dijk after the Dutchman succeeded him as Liverpool captain.
Van Dijk was officially named as the new Reds ‘skipper yesterday, following on from Henderson’s eight-year stint with the armband.
It was a big moment for the centre-back, who also captains the Netherlands at international level. Recognising the need to comment, Henderson took to his Instagram stories to wish all the best to both Virgil and new vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“Good luck boys,” wrote the Al Ettifaq man alongside a love heart emoji, a salute and a bicep flex.
There’ll have surely been a few more words exchanged in private between captain’s past and present. For now though, that’s all it looks like we’re getting from Hendo.
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Henderson reacts to Van Dijk appointment
Jurgen Klopp certainly didn’t expect to be in the position of having to appoint a new captain and vice-captain this summer.
Of course, he must have known James Milner was vacating his position as second-in-command for a little while. But with Henderson still around, Van Dijk was the obvious choice to make the step up to deputy.
Nevertheless, here we are. His former skipper’s desire to move on has left Klopp with an unexpected decision to make.
Thankfully, it can’t have been a hard one for Jurgen. Although there were other candidates, Virgil was the outstanding one. He’s already captained the side many times before and has the mentality to step into Henderson’s shoes seamlessly.
The choice of Alexander-Arnold as vice is a slightly more interesting one. More senior figures were available to Klopp. Andy Robertson is Scotland captain and may have fancied the gig. Alisson Becker meanwhile is another senior player, while Mohamed Salah was also probably in the conversation.
But in the end, Klopp has obviously decided that the time is right to start giving Trent more responsibility. The hope will be that it will kick his displays up another level.
Clearly, the choice has also been made with an eye on the future. Van Dijk is the right pick for now, but he’s already 32. Give it a couple of years and he’ll likely be on the move, too. When that dark day comes around, Liverpool will already have their next Scouse captain primed and ready to go.