Liverpool fans can rest easy in the knowledge that they won’t be changing their captain anytime soon.

The Reds have become used to having players wear the armband for abnormally long stints over the last two decades.

First, Steven Gerrard captained the side from 2003 right the way up until his Anfield exit in 2015.

Taking over from the Liverpool legend was Jordan Henderson, who followed Gerrard in the best possible way, winning the Premier League and Champions League between 2015 and 2023.

Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson's role in Virgil van Dijk signing new deal	Jordan Henderson makes true Liverpool feelings clear after Virgil van Dijk contract news	Jordan Henderson shows true Liverpool colours after new Virgil van Dijk contract

Henderson then passed the responsibility down to Virgil van Dijk, who, after lifting the League Cup in 2024, is set to captain Liverpool to another Premier League title in the next month.

There had been a possibility that Van Dijk would vacate the position after just two years, but having signed a new contract on Thursday, that isn’t going to be the case.

And as the Dutchman but pen to paper on two more years at Anfield, he made sure to mention Henderson.

Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Van Dijk has been the absolute perfect captain during his two years in the role so far.

It hasn’t just been that things have been excellent on the pitch, the centre-back has also perfectly captured the spirit of the club off it.

Van Dijk is the essence of what a Liverpool captain should be.

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But he did not become that overnight.

“We had Jordan Henderson, he was an amazing captain and still a good friend of mine but I really learned a lot from him on and off the pitch.”

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“The way he set the standard each and every training, the way he communicates off the pitch, the way he always made sure everyone was on board, not only the players but the rest of the people connected to the club.

But I want to keep improving.”

While Liverpool fans celebrate their Dutch captain penning a new deal on Thursday, there is a special kind of symmetry in the fact that his predecessor, Henderson, is closing in on a league title in Van Dijk’s home land.

Ajax were not in a good place when Henderson joined in January 2024, but after the arrival of manager Francesco Farioli, they have turned things around.

With just five games left in the Eredivisie season, Ajax sit nine points clear of second place PSV Eindhoven.

Like Liverpool, they need two more wins to secure the title.

So, while Van Dijk becomes the first Dutch captain to lift the Premier League title with Liverpool, Henderson will be achieving an identical feat as an Englishman in the Netherlands.

Two fantastic leaders who we have been lucky to call our own over the past decade and more.