The changing of the Liverpool guard will soon take place following a trophy-laden spell for Jordan Henderson, who is

now confirmed to be departing the club after 12 years of service.

The England international will swap Merseyside for the Middle East to link up with Al Ettifaq, whose new head

coach Steven Gerrard was the one to pass over the armband to his compatriot back in 2015.

Since then, Henderson, Jurgen Klopp and co have masterminded a magnificent period of sustained success for the Reds,

who are expected to receive around £12m for the sale of the 33-year-old.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at five players who could succeed Henderson as Liverpool’s new skipper for the 2023-24

campaign.

Virgil van Dijk

 

 

 

Undeniably the most obvious pick, Virgil van Dijk has proudly sported the Netherlands armband on a full-time basis since

2018 and is also no stranger to leading Liverpool out onto the turf.

The 32-year-old already forms a part of Liverpool’s six-man leadership group and has taken on the role of third-choice

captain behind Henderson and former vice-captain James Milner, whose move to Brighton & Hove Albion also leaves

another vacancy to be filled.

Whenever Henderson and Milner had previously been absent for whatever reason, Van Dijk unsurprisingly assumed the

responsibilities as skipper and has sported the armband in every competition for Klopp’s side excluding the Community

Shield,

including FA Cup and Champions League semi-finals versus Manchester City and Villarreal respectively last season.

Thanks to his explosive start to life on Merseyside, Klopp first entrusted Van Dijk with the captaincy less than a year after his

arrival from Southampton, and while his powers may have waned slightly last season, the towering Dutchman will surely be

the number one pick.

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Alisson Becker

 

 

 

 

Another accomplished member of the defensive pack, Alisson Becker would be a highly popular choice for the captaincy for

Liverpool fans, many of whom cannot and will not stop singing the goalkeeper’s praises for his crucial contributions season

in season out.

Alisson was never bestowed with the armband during his time at Roma, but he captained former club Internacional on one

occasion – a goalless draw with Chapecoense in 2016 – and he has conducted the pre-match duties in the centre circle with

Liverpool too.

Indeed, the Brazil international captained the Reds in a pair of Champions League affairs versus Porto and AC Milan during

the 2021-22 campaign, and after a 2-0 win over the former opponent, Alisson labelled his brief stint with the armband as a

“pleasure” and an “honour”.

Alisson has not led the Reds out onto the field since, but the 30-year-old remains a prominent member of Klopp’s leadership

group, and few would bat an eyelid if he were to become Henderson’s successor.

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Mohamed Salah

 

 

 

 

 

As is the case with Van Dijk, Egyptian wing king Mohamed Salah already holds the honour of captaining his country, and the

31-year-old could very well be a wildcard option for skipper duties on Merseyside after memorably being snubbed for the

role in a 2020 Champions League dead rubber versus FC Midtjylland.

With all of Henderson, Milner, Van Dijk, Alisson and Georginio Wijnaldum previously vying for the armband, Salah is

yet to experience the feeling of captaining Liverpool, but the former Chelsea and Roma man has already done the armband

justice at international level.

Since first being named Egypt captain in 2021, Salah led the Pharaohs to the final of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations,

although they soon suffered penalty-shootout heartache at the hands of Sadio Mane‘s Senegal, who also ended Egypt’s

dreams of 2022 World Cup qualification.

Nevertheless, Salah has undoubtedly thrown his hat into the ring for the Liverpool armband – which has not been sported

permanently by a forward since Robbie Fowler in the 2000-01 season – but having overtaken the Englishman as

Liverpool’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer, it would only be fitting for Salah to follow in Fowler’s footsteps

again.

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Andrew Robertson

 

 

 

 

Following the departure of Wijnaldum in 2021, Scotland defender Andrew Robertson was one of six players appointed to the

Reds’ newly-formed leadership group, and he experienced his first taste of armband action last season.

Unfortunately for the left-back, his two games as skipper were forgettable affairs, as Liverpool’s FA Cup defence came to an

end at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion before they were served a slice of humble pie in a 3-0 Premier League defeat to

Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Those rotten results should not impact Robertson’s chances of being appointed captain on a full-time basis, though, as the

29-year-old has now acted as Scotland’s captain for almost five years and has played a significant role in his country’s period

of inspiring achievements, most notably leading Steve Clarke‘s side to the Euro 2020 finals.

Scotland have also begun their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with four wins from four under Robertson’s guardianship –

including a famous 2-0 success over Spain – and the former Hull City man will not be ceding the left-back spot at Liverpool

anytime soon.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold

 

 

 

 

 

On the other side of the backline, Trent Alexander-Arnold represents the junior member of Liverpool’s leadership group, but

Klopp has already seen fit to entrust him with the captain’s job since his breakthrough into the first team.

During the aforementioned Champions League clash with Midtjylland in 2020, a 22-year-old Alexander-Arnold was

surprisingly named Liverpool’s skipper ahead of Salah and proudly wore the armband for his boyhood club until Henderson

was introduced on the 61-minute mark.

A local lad who knows the club inside and out, Alexander-Arnold is still revelling in the “fond memories” of leading

Liverpool out of the tunnel for the first time, and the 24-year-old is once again flaunting his creative excellence from his

newfound hybrid role.

Alexander-Arnold’s age will not help his cause to take over as Henderson’s successor, but while it may be considered too

early for the right-back to assume such an onerous role week in week out, the captaincy could very well be his a couple of

seasons down the line.