Jordan Henderson Message To Kobbie Mainoo After Taking His Place in England Squad

Veteran Henderson, 33, missed out on a place on the Three Lions plane after his January switch from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq to Dutch giants Ajax.

But the former Liverpool midfielder hopes the unity that runs through the rest of the squad can help Mainoo – and his fellow younger teammates – thrive when the action gets underway on the continent next month.

He said: “I’m sure Kobbie and a few of the other lads who are new to the squad will feel at home straight away and be able to perform whenever they play for England”.

“Every time a new or young player comes into the squad, the experienced players in the group feel a responsibility to make them feel as comfortable as possible”.

“We want to make sure that they train well, play for England, express themselves and do what they’ve been doing for their club.”

Henderson was a key cog in the Southgate sides that came so close to lifting a major trophy for the first time since 1966.

And the Sunderland-born star, who has racked up 81 caps since his debut back in 2010, reckons England’s recent experiences of heartbreak will intensify their hunger to go all the way this summer.

Henderson, speaking as part of a new LG collaboration ahead of Euro 2024, added: “It’s definitely important in terms of recent tournament experience – we’ve had some good moments and some not so good moments.

“It’s about experiences and using those experiences going into a new tournament – new players coming in, refreshing the squad from previous major tournaments.

“I think we’ve steadily progressed over the last few years and we’re in a position now where we’ve got a bit of youth and also experience in major tournaments in doing quite well.

“We’ve just never quite got over the finish line, so that makes you more hungry – hopefully we can go one step further in the summer.”