Liverpool’s squad is now virtually unrecognisable from the one which conquered Europe and the Premier League under Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp built an unbelievable team during his almost nine years in charge, with the zenith coming between 2018 and 2022.
If you work through the Liverpool team from those times, almost every player is either a Liverpool legend or at the very least a cult hero.
One who certainly falls into the former category is former captain Jordan Henderson. Although the nature of his exit to Saudi Arabia in 2023 has left a dark cloud over his Liverpool legacy, Henderson deserves his status as a genuine hero of the club.
The 34-year-old lifted every possible trophy under Klopp and in time his period at Liverpool will surely be looked upon with the acclaim that it deserves.
In the meantime, Henderson made a surprise visit to the AXA Training Centre on Thursday, where he seemed delighted to see the man he passed the captain’s armband to: Virgil van Dijk.
Jordan Henderson shares Virgil van Dijk moment
It has always felt like Henderson did not get the send-off his service to Liverpool really deserved last year.
Having pushed to leave for Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq, the legendary captain rather left through the back door at Anfield.
This meant that Henderson did got get to say his goodbyes to the Liverpool supporters and has still not been seen back at the club in more than a year since his departure.
Thankfully, that changed on Thursday, when the now Ajax midfielder was snapped enjoying some time with former teammates like Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota.
READ MORE: Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson almost gets into on-pitch fight with Ajax teammate
But the biggest reunion of all came with Van Dijk. The pair enjoyed some terrific years together with the Reds and taking to his Instagram stories on Friday, Henderson shared a nice post of the two men.
After the pictures of his visit were made public, the former skipper posted a shot of he and Van Dijk embracing at the doors of the training centre.
With Virgil kitted out in gym gear, he had obviously rushed out to meet his old pal. And recognising the love between former teammates, Henderson tagged Van Dijk into his post, while captioning it with a single love heart. Lovely.
Why was Jordan Henderson back?
After Henderson’s shock visit, the conspiracy theories have already started to form about why he was back in Liverpool.
Some have speculated that it could be as part of a contract announcement for Alexander-Arnold.
As perhaps the player in Trent’s career so far, it isn’t necessarily implausible to suggest that Henderson could be used in some kind of video to accompany what would be a big announcement.
The two players obviously have a big connection and it would be really nice if that were the case.
Until anything is suggested otherwise, though, it’s more likely that, currently injured, this was simply a good opportunity for Hendo to finally come back home. Great to see you, Jordan!
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