Jordan Henderson will miss out on England‘s provisional Euro 2024 squad, with his former Liverpool team-mate Curtis Jones set to step up in his place.
The 33-year-old has been a regular inclusion in the England set-up for over a decade, though questions over his Three Lions future will now be raised as Gareth Southgate has appeared to look to alternative options.
It comes after Henderson’s controversial move to Al-Ettifaq last summer, in a move that lasted just five months, before the former Liverpool skipper moved to Ajax in January.
The move to the Dutch giants was seen to boost his hopes of making the Euro 2024 squad, however it appears he will be left out of the expanded squad which is to be announced this afternoon.
His former Liverpool team-mate Jones is set to benefit from Henderson’s exclusion, with the midfielder appearing to be on the verge of winning his first senior cap.
Jordan Henderson has reportedly been left out of England’s provisional Euro 2024 squad
Henderson has been a regular during Gareth Southgate’s entire reign as Three Lions manager
Henderson’s former team-mate Curtis Jones (centre) is set to be included in a senior England squad for the first time
Jarell Quansah is another Liverpool star set to be included in the squad for the first time
Jones was in contention to make the last squad in March before getting injured, and despite struggling for regular starts since, he is set to be included.
Jarell Quansah will also make the cut for the first time after an impressive break-through season at Anfield, in which he has recently started ahead of Ibrahima Konate alongside Virgil van Dijk.
England are suffering an injury crisis in defence, with Chelsea’s Levi Colwill set to featured despite missing the final months of the season due to injury.
Southgate’s biggest problem area is at the left-back position, with Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell both struggling for fitness this season.
Luke Shaw, who has not played for Manchester United since February 18 against Luton will make the cut, though Chilwell has been omitted.
Crystal Palace quartet Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton, Marc Guehi and Dean Henderson have made the 30-plus man squad – after the Eagles’ excellent finish to the Premier League season.
Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo keeps his place in the England set-up after he was called up for the first time back in March following an excellent debut season.
Ivan Toney, who missed the first-half of the season after breaching betting rules, makes the squad despite scoring just four times since his return to Brentford in January.
Among others to be make the squad include James Maddison, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Jarrad Branthwaite and goalkeeper James Trafford. Southgate’s England squad will be reduced to 26 players before the tournament in Germany gets underway.
Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton are among four Crystal Palace stars set to be included
Chelsea’s Levi Colwill is also set to make the team despite being out of action recently
Luke Shaw is set to be included despite not playing since February 18 for Manchester United
Ben Chilwell will reportedly miss out despite England’s current crisis at the left-back position
Raheem Sterling is expected to miss out, though this is not seen as a surprise given he has been out of contention since the World Cup in Qatar.
The exclusion of Henderson, who made his senior England debut in 2010 and has been called up to the last six major tournaments, is a massive surprise however.
His place in the squad has been almost a guarantee during the entirety of Southgate’s reign as England manager.
Fans though questioned whether he deserved his place in the team when he moved to the Saudi Pro League, due to the calibre of opposition he played during his short spell in the country.
Henderson played just 12 times for Ajax due to a muscle injury, though he featured in the Dutch side’s final games of the season.
Southgate visited the Netherlands to watch Henderson’s Ajax debut back in February.
‘It was really nice for Gareth to come over and watch my debut for Ajax,’ said Henderson. ‘It was good for him to come and watch to see that he’s keeping an eye on me.
Henderson was booed by England fans after his move to Saudi Arabia, when they played Australia back in October
Southgate was in attendance for Henderson’s Ajax debut and included him in their squad in March
‘It’s always a privilege for me to play for my country and I want to do that for as long as possible.
‘I definitely feel I can offer something to the national team. I have got to be playing and doing my job here, that is my main focus. But of course I feel I can help the squad and the team going forward in the next camp and hopefully in the summer.’
The veteran kept his place in the selection for their friendlies with Brazil and Belgium back in March.
After moving to Saudi Arabia, he was booed by England fans when they played in Australia back in October, prompting Southgate to come to his defence at the time.
Southgate will shorten his 30-plus man squad to 26 ahead of this summer’s tournament
In light of Henderson being booed, Southgate was asked whether he considers external influences when he picks his team.
He responded saying: ‘We’ll assess Jordan like every other player. But if I just select on a popularity contest, then our team would look very, very different.
‘I’ll always pick the players that I think are the best players to represent the team, that give us the best chance of winning, unless there’s something that I feel is not appropriate.’