Jordan Henderson has been labelled as a ‘panic purchase’ by a Dutch journalist who has questioned what the former Liverpool captain will bring to the current Ajax side.
The 33-year-old only swapped Anfield for Saudi Arabia in the summer but struggled to settle in the Middle East and terminated his contract recently in order to move back to Europe.
The England international will also have half an eye on the upcoming European Championships and will be eager to remain a part of Gareth Southgate’s plans ahead of the summer.
De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen believes our former No. 14 is an ‘expensive gamble’ and someone who has a huge task on his hands to single-handedly improve the Amsterdam-based outfit.
“A panic purchase can also be successful, but Henderson is past his peak after three years at Sunderland, 12 years at Liverpool and half a year at Al-Ettifaq,” Driessen revealed on Thursday with Today Inside (via Football Transfers).
“He won’t lose any sleep over it, but he is now 33 years old and will be 34 in June. When his contract with Ajax expires, he will be 36 years old. For comparison, when Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind came to Ajax as experienced players in the summer of 2018 to help young top talents with their development, they were 29 and 28 years old respectively.
“At the age of 33, 15 years in England makes itself felt physically. From one day to the next it can be over, or a serious injury can mean the end of his career. The qualities of the player Henderson on the ball do not make the difference. Not even in the Eredivisie.
“At Ajax he has to improve a collection of mediocre players, but that is something completely different from his task at Liverpool where he cleared up the crumbs.
“Henderson, who succeeds two failed English signings (Calvin Bassey and Chuba Akpom), is an extremely expensive gamble for Ajax. No matter how well regarded he is and is seen as a saviour in Amsterdam, Liverpool’s Henderson would never have chosen the Eredivisie.”
Ajax’s form improved drastically prior to the winter break but the side had a dreadful start to the campaign.
Despite their recent good form John van’t Schip’s side find themselves a whopping 23 points behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven and 11 points outside the Champions League spots.
A top-two finish will certainly be the aim for Henderson’s new side with the former Al-Ettifaq man picking up a healthy salary in the Dutch capital.
“Henderson receives €4.5 million euros in salary per year at Ajax and €1.5 million in signing fees,” Driessen added. “He will be there for 2.5 years, so that is easy to calculate.”
It’s been nice to see a smile back on the face of our former skipper in the last 24 hours.
He may have made a mistake by heading to Saudi in the summer but let’s hope he can have a strong second half to the season with the Dutch giants.