Jordan Henderson CAPTAINS Al-Ettifaq in pre-season friendly match, with ex-Liverpool star set to make debut after his lucrative Saudi switch

Jordan Henderson has been named in the Al-Ettifaq’s starting line-up for the first time since making his lucrative Saudi switch.

The former Liverpool captain completed a stunning move to the Saudi Pro League side last month, where he signed a staggering £700,000-per-week deal.

In doing so, Henderson, 33, linked up with Reds legend Steven Gerrard – who was appointed as the club’s manager last month.

And now, the England international is set to make his first outing in Al-Ettifaq colours after being named in their pre-season clash against Al Jazira.

Along with former Lyon and Fulham striker Moussa Dembele, Henderson will take the armband on his first appearance – where he will also where the number 10 shirt.

Henderson, 33, completed a lucrative move from Merseyside at the end of last month

Last month, the 33-year-old flew out to Saudi Arabia to complete his controversial move, with the midfielder signing a three-year contract. 

Confirming the news, Liverpool said in a statement: ‘We can confirm Jordan Henderson has completed a transfer to Al-Ettifaq. As his Anfield chapter now comes to a close, everyone at the club wishes to place on record their thanks and gratitude for everything Jordan did for us during his 12 years as a Red.’

Al-Ettifaq also announced the move on their end, writing: ‘A leader. A warrior. We’re simply thrilled to have him. Henderson is ETTIFAQ.’

It is thought Henderson spoke to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp at length about his likely playing time and his future role in the team before deciding to make the switch.

Klopp had left Henderson out of Liverpool’s squad for their opening two pre-season friendlies after Al-Ettifaq came back to the table with an offer the Anfield club were happy to accept. 

Henderson also held discussions with England boss Gareth Southgate over how a move to the Middle East would impact his international future.

And Southgate recently revealed that he would ‘stupid’ to stop picking Henderson because of his £12million move to Saudi.

The England international called an end to his 12-year stint with the Reds, which drew backlash from a number of the club’s LGBTQ supporter groups

Southgate was a guest on talkSPORT on Friday, and he addressed his talks with Henderson, as well as the criticism he has received.

Opening up on his talks with Henderson he said: ‘We know the qualities he has, we know how much playing for England means to him. The question he wanted to know is “if I move here will you rule me out”?

‘Why would we rule any player out based on where they’re playing? That would be stupid. We need to see how they are playing and how they are physically.

‘We don’t actually know the level of this league until we actually see the games.

‘Three months ago I would have a different idea to now. They have a lot of big name players, maybe not in the prime of their careers, but they’re not players past their sell by date.