Henderson’s future at Ajax is uncertain

Jordan Henderson seemed to land safely after a turbulent six months in Saudi Arabia when he signed for Ajax in January. But now David Ornstein writes in The Athletic that the former Liverpool captain may be forced to change clubs once again, as the big club is struggling financially as a result of a weak season.

Ajax is fifth in the Eredivisie before the last two league rounds, and has no chance of climbing the table. As a result, they end up outside both the Champions League and the Europa League next season, and that means lost income.

That could cost Henderson, who became the club’s highest-paid player when he arrived in January. The weekly salary should be between 85,000 and 110,000 pounds. It is a sharp reduction compared to what he earned in Al-Ettifaq in the autumn, but for Ajax it is rare to pay so much in salary to an individual player. Steven Bergwijn is one of the few in the club who is close, and he could also be sold this summer to ensure balance in the accounts.

Bad season

Ornstein clarifies that there are mainly financial reasons why Ajax will consider getting rid of Henderson, who is under contract until June 2026. The club basically wants to keep the 33-year-old, but it is not certain that it can be done.

It is the first time in 13 seasons that Ajax ends up outside the top two places in the Eredivisie. They could risk ending up as low as seventh if they don’t do the job in the last few games. There are 35 points to league champion PSV, while there are 26 points to Arne Slot’s Feyenoord in second place.

The big club is also on the hunt for a manager this summer, and they are said to have considered Pep Lijnders, who, like Jürgen Klopp, is leaving Liverpool after the season. This week it became known that former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter refused to become Ajax’s new boss.

For Henderson’s part, we can hope it will be a quieter summer than last year, when in July he decided to take his family to Saudi Arabia and Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq. As it turned out, he was to regret that decision. The midfielder will probably be part of England’s European Championship squad this summer, where he could be reunited with players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and perhaps also Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones.