Henderson 'could make a SHOCK return' as he's lack of playing time at Ajax

  /  autty

Jordan Henderson could yet make a shock return to English football as he struggles to get playing time for Ajax in the Eredivise.

This could encourage the 34-year-old midfielder to look for a new club, and possibly as soon as January, when the winter transfer window opens.

According to The Sun, several 'Premier League clubs have been alerted, but leading Championship sides are also considering a loan deal.'

This could be an issue, however, as Henderson faces tax implications for returning so soon to the UK after playing in Saudi Arabia in 2023.

The former Liverpool skipper joined Ajax in January 2024, after a doomed spell at Saudi Pro League side, Al-Ettifaq.

He has since made only 12 league appearances for the Dutch side however, and is believed to be growing restless with the lack of game time.

Henderson joined Ajax after spending little under six months at Al-Ettifaq, after joining the club for a reported £12million in August 2023.

Then, he had left Liverpool under something of a cloud, after agreeing to join Reds legend and former teammate, Steven Gerrard, who managed the Saudi Club at the time.

The sudden move to the Middle East came after the midfield general spent 12 seasons between at Anfield til 2023, having signed from Sunderland for £20m in 2012.

He made a total of 492 appearances for Liverpool, netting 33 goals. He succeeded Gerrard as club captain in 2015, before lifting the Champions League trophy in 2019.

The midfielder secured legendary status on Merseyside the following year, however, after skippering Liverpool to their first top-flight League title in more than 30 years.

But his decision to leave the Reds left a craw in the throat for many fans, who criticised his motivations for being purely financial.

Despite being 32 at the time, Al-Ettifaq offered Henderson a reported £700,000-a-week to join the Saudi Pro League – and serve as one of the faces for country's blooming sports revolution.

Reflecting on the decision to swap Anfield for the midfield club, Henderson said: 'It was very much a football decision.

'Of course I've got to make the decision be for me about what's best for me and my family as well.

'I think a lot of people would probably like us to sit here and criticise the Saudi league and everything that went along with that, but that certainly wasn't the case and that's something that I'm not going to do.

'I've got full respect for the league, for any fans of the club, for the people over there who really made us feel welcome.

'But unfortunately these things in life sometimes just don't work out in football and in life in general.'

Related: Ajax Al-Ettifaq FC Steven Gerrard Henderson
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