Jordan Henderson sends 3-word message to Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold after Liverpool captaincy announcement

Jordan Henderson sent a message to Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold after they were appointed as the new Liverpool captain and vice-captain, respectively. The English midfielder wished them well via an Instagram story.

Henderson left Liverpool in July to join Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq. The midfielder had been the club captain since Steven Gerrard's exit and manager Jurgen Klopp has selected Van Dijk as his successor.

Taking to Instagram soon after the decision was announced, Henderson shared the images on his story and wished Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold luck.

"Good luck boys," Henderson wrote, along with a heart emoji.

Liverpool's first match after the announcement of the new captain and vice-captain is a pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, August 2.

"It's sad, absolutely strange, because he is the only captain I had here at Liverpool": Jurgen Klopp after Jordan Henderson's departure

After Henderson left the Reds to join Al Ettifaq, Klopp admitted that the Liverpool dressing room would be "strange" without the Englishman. He recalled that he has not had a club captain other than Jordan Henderson at Anfield since he joined.

Klopp told the club's official website:

"It's sad, absolutely strange, because he is the only captain I had here at L'pool, 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."

Klopp also elaborated on Henderson's abilities as a player and claimed that is extremely adept at the both the physical and technical aspects of the game. He said:

"Hendo is a really good package, a really good package. There is the physical part, but there is the super-technical part. He is technically really, really good. You cannot have this amount of Premier League games, you cannot be captain of L'pool, you cannot play in the most important games in the world if you are technically not on a super-high level - and he is. Right foot, left foot really good."

Talking about his famous midfield trio of Fabinho, Henderson, and Georginio Wijnaldum, Klopp added:

"Let me say, this midfield Fabinho, Hendo, Gini and then Millie, these four for three positions, I think nobody would have said it would be a successful midfield because something is lacking - but nothing was lacking because the boys were all a real package. That's what was so good and Hendo was a super-important part of that."

Liverpool will start their 2023-24 Premier League campaign with an away game against Chelsea on Sunday, August 13.