Gareth Southgate's decision to ignore Liverpool star for Jordan Henderson makes zero sense

On Thursday, England manager Gareth Southgate announced his final England squad before the Euros and there was just one Liverpool player on the list.

Joe Gomez made a welcome return to the set-up after a four-year absence, with Southgate no longer able to ignore the Reds' Swiss Army knife of a footballer.

The 26-year-old, who is now the only first-teamer at Liverpool to pre-date Jurgen Klopp, has excelled in every position across the backline and even at the base of midfield this season, making 40 appearances in all competitions as the Reds chase an unprecedented quadruple.

With his versatility a key asset for Liverpool amid the injury crisis, even club captain Virgil van Dijk has called Gomez one of the players of the season.

It all makes his career total of just 11 England caps, the last of which came in a friendly back in 2020, look all the more confusing.

Klopp has hailed the merits of recalling Gomez at international level multiple times recently.

Speaking after Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, the manager made the case for his No. 2's inclusion by saying: "I am not standing here telling Gareth who he should pick but you can get one player and have four positions covered. Wonderful."

After the 1-1 draw with City, Klopp simply said more directly: "Joe Gomez. Gareth, honestly."

However, while Gomez's deserved recall is a decidedly good news story, there is reason to take issue with another omission from Southgate's squad: Harvey Elliott.

Liverpool's 20-year-old midfielder has been in superb form of late and another of the Reds' stars who have stepped up amid the ongoing availability issues.

Prior to Thursday night's win over Sparta Prague, in which he came off the bench and grabbed an assist, Elliott was the only Liverpool player to have started the previous six games — which took place over an endurance-testing 19 days.

That included the Carabao Cup final in which he played the full 120 minutes, before doing another 75 three days later as one of the more 'senior' stars alongside the kids against Southampton in the FA Cup.

His performances have not simply been about durability either.

In his last nine outings in all competitions, Elliott has six assists and a goal and is able to operate either as part of a midfield three or out on the wing.

He is in that new mould technically gifted midfield players, who are creative as well as versatile, tactically savvy and and very willing runners.

Despite only leaving behind his teenage years last April, the former Fulham prodigy already has over 100 appearances for Liverpool and feels like an established star.

Last season he made 46 outings. This year he has 40 already. He is the present, rather than the future

So, why then is he still in the England Under-21 squad this March rather than the senior squad?

This is Southgate's last chance to look at new players before this summer's Euros in Germany and the exact make up of the midfield, along with options at centre back, remains a key issue for the England manager.

With Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson both struggling and few other standout options, Elliott — along with teammate Curtis Jones before his injury — should be exactly the type of player considered.

Granted Elliott is not a defensive-minded player like Henderson, but he is dynamic, versatile and used to playing at the highest level. Surely, he offers so much more than Henderson at this stage of his career and is worth at least taking a look at to see how and where he might fit in as part of a midfield three, or as cover for the wide positions.

The omission rankles further when considering how difficult it has become for certain players to break into the England team on form alone, when Southgate remains wedded to his old favourites.

Elliott is not the only player to fall foul in this regard, with Jones, Gomez, Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus Cheek among those to suffer similarly by being overlooked in recent squads.

Southgate has defended his selection by hailing the impact of Henderson at Ajax, but the reality is that the 33-year-old former Liverpool captain has won one game out of eight since signing in January.

Initially seen as something of a coup for the struggling Dutch giants, Henderson has faced criticism in the press and some particularly brutal post-match questioning over his 'poor' displays.

Interviewed after a 2-2 home draw with Fortuna Sittard, Henderson was asked by ESPN if he had just played the 'worst' game of his career in one awkward exchange.

Southgate may ultimately deem Henderson essential for the Euros, as one of few available holding midfield options and as a sort of human megaphone/squad cheerleader, but there is simply nothing to be gained by calling up an ageing out-of-form player with 81 caps for these types of friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

Instead, the manager should be using the opportunity to test out his midfield of the future. And that includes Elliott.