He’s the captain that Jurgen Klopp had throughout his tenure to date, and Jordan Henderson’s decision to leave Liverpool and move to Al Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League has left a gaping hole at Anfield.
Not just from a playing perspective either, because ‘Hendo’s’ force of personality is clearly going to be sorely missed.
Though there are likely to be many that disagree with the player’s decision to head to Saudi, given his outspoken views in support of LGBTQ issues, the fact is that Henderson has made the decision that he feels is right and whether anyone else likes it or not, the bottom line is it’s none of their business.
Coming right on top of the new Premier League season is hardly the best time given how much it will have disrupted Klopp’s pre-season planning, but the German isn’t holding any grudges.
“We had time to adapt to it and get used to it. It is football, it is life, it is normal, these kind of things happen,” he said to the official Liverpool website.
“Monday when we arrived back in Liverpool, Hendo was waiting for us to say goodbye properly to the team and to the coaching staff as well, so that was a really nice gesture – a really nice thing to do.
“I know it was a really, really tough decision for Hendo and I was around or with him all the way. It’s sad, absolutely strange, because he is the only captain I had here at Liverpool, but I think it is exciting for him as well.
“We will miss him, without a shadow of a doubt, that’s clear – as a man and as a player. But, as I said, that’s football.”
Just how much Henderson’s absence will affect Liverpool will only be seen after a handful of matches, though the coaching staff will surely be hoping that they already have the players in situ to cover his absence, or have a signing or two on the way to do just that.
As Klopp notes, football is forever evolving and players come and go. To coin a phrase, no one is bigger than the club, and that’s as true for Jordan Henderson as it is for any other player to have walked through the Shankly Gates.