Jordan Henderson has been labelled as a ‘panic buy’ by a Dutch journalist who has questioned what the previous Liverpool captain will carry to the present Ajax aspect.
The 33-year-old solely swapped Anfield for Saudi Arabia in the summertime however struggled to settle within the Center East and terminated his contract just lately with the intention to transfer again to Europe.
The England worldwide may even have half an eye fixed on the upcoming European Championships and will likely be keen to stay part of Gareth Southgate’s plans forward of the summer season.
De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen believes our former No. 14 is an ‘costly gamble’ and somebody who has an enormous job on his arms to single-handedly enhance the Amsterdam-based outfit.
“A panic buy can be profitable, however Henderson is previous his peak after three years at Sunderland, 12 years at Liverpool and half a yr at Al-Ettifaq,” Driessen revealed on Thursday with At present Inside (through Football Transfers).
“He gained’t lose any sleep over it, however he’s now 33 years outdated and will likely be 34 in June. When his contract with Ajax expires, he will likely be 36 years outdated. For comparability, when Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind got here to Ajax as skilled gamers in the summertime of 2018 to assist younger prime abilities with their improvement, they have been 29 and 28 years outdated respectively.
“On the age of 33, 15 years in England makes itself felt bodily. From in the future to the following it may be over, or a critical damage can imply the top of his profession. The qualities of the participant Henderson on the ball don’t make the distinction. Not even within the Eredivisie.
“At Ajax he has to enhance a set of mediocre gamers, however that’s one thing fully totally different from his job at Liverpool the place he cleared up the crumbs.
“Henderson, who succeeds two failed English signings (Calvin Bassey and Chuba Akpom), is a particularly costly gamble for Ajax. Irrespective of how nicely regarded he’s and is seen as a saviour in Amsterdam, Liverpool’s Henderson would by no means have chosen the Eredivisie.”
Ajax’s type improved drastically previous to the winter break however the aspect had a dreadful begin to the marketing campaign.
Regardless of their latest good type John van’t Schip’s aspect discover themselves a whopping 23 factors behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven and 11 factors exterior the Champions League spots.
A top-two end will definitely be the goal for Henderson’s new aspect with the previous Al-Ettifaq man selecting up a wholesome wage within the Dutch capital.
“Henderson receives €4.5 million euros in wage per yr at Ajax and €1.5 million in signing charges,” Driessen added. “He will likely be there for two.5 years, so that’s straightforward to calculate.”
It’s been good to see a smile again on the face of our former skipper within the final 24 hours.
He could have made a mistake by heading to Saudi in the summertime however let’s hope he can have a powerful second half to the season with the Dutch giants.
