Gareth Southgate jets out to Amsterdam to watch Jordan Henderson on Ajax debut despite not once visiting Middle East during former Liverpool captain’s controversial Al-Ettifaq stint

Not once during Jordan Henderson‘s six-month spell in Saudi Arabia did Gareth Southgate bother making the trip to the Middle East to watch him.

Perhaps he would have done so later in the season had Henderson remained at Al Ettifaq.

‘As time moves on, we’ll get to more of the Milans, the Madrids and Bayern Munichs, as well as out to see Hendo,’ said the England manager in October.

That opportunity never came as Henderson forced his way out of the Middle East yet it spoke volumes that on a day with five Premier League games, Southgate was instantly present for his Ajax debut against the unbeaten Eredivisie leaders in PSV, with Henderson admitting to Mail Sport that he wasn’t aware.

‘It’s nice to know he came. He picked a nice and high-intensity game to watch,’ said Henderson.

England boss Southgate was joined by close friend Steve Cooper in the stands in Amsterdam

The former Liverpool captain made a controversial move to the Middle East last summer 

After quitting Saudi Arabia, Henderson is keen to close the book on the controversial stint

Henderson said he had ‘no idea’ that England boss Southgate was in attendance in Amsterdam

The Eredivisie is not the Premier League but PSV are Champions League level opposition and it was undoubtedly a step up in intensity from the 17 games he played in the Saudi Pro League.

As Henderson spoke, you got the feeling too that he was desperate to move on.

‘For me and my family, we’ve felt at home straight away here and that really helps when you go out on the field, if you’re happy,’ he said, before admitting how much he missed playing in front of large crowds, with some of those games in Saudi played in front of less than a thousand fans.

‘It felt incredible. I had a little bit of nervous excitement just to get out there and play actually,’ added Henderson.

Across 95 minutes in front of a full house, the 33-year-old delivered the kind of performance that was so frequent in a Liverpool shirt – vocal, full of energy and regularly on the ball in a defensive role. Only the two Ajax centre-backs had more touches than the 64 Henderson managed.

It was nothing special but it was assured and a welcome reminder for Southgate, who has picked Henderson in all of his tournament squads to date, though he will hardly have much tougher tests in the Dutch league between now and the Euros.

Henderson turns 34 the day after England begin their campaign against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen this summer and though it will prove divisive – if he makes the 23-man squad, as expected – picking the Henderson of Ajax rather than the Henderson of Al Ettifaq will ultimately be a much easier decision for the England manager.