Jordan Henderson will sign for Brentford next week after Ajax exit

Jordan Henderson’s return to the Premier League with Brentford will be confirmed next week after the England midfielder agreed a two-year contract with the Bees.

The 35-year-old, who ended a sometimes turbulent spell at Ajax this month, will fill the void left by Christian Nørgaard in a much-changed Brentford setup. Nørgaard, who had been the club’s captain, joined Arsenal this week and the expectation is that Henderson’s experience will be critical to the revamped engine room.

It means Henderson will add to his 431 top-flight appearances two years after leaving Liverpool and joining the Saudi club Al-Ettifaq. That transfer sparked controversy owing to a perceived clash with his high-profile support of LGBTQ+ rights. His spell there lasted only six months, an early contract termination allowing him to join Ajax in January 2024.

Henderson captained Ajax but they dramatically missed out on last season’s Eredivisie title and he received criticism early this year after claims he was seeking a move to Monaco. Although contracted to the Amsterdam club until next summer, they agreed to release him and facilitate his move back to England.

He is the latest player to join Brentford in a summer of change that has seen Keith Andrews step up to replace the Spurs-bound Thomas Frank as head coach. The goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, who joined in June, will be a familiar face from Henderson’s Liverpool days. There is considerable doubt over whether Bryan Mbeumo, a long-term target of Manchester United, will remain among his teammates when next season begins.

Henderson may hope that renewed Premier League exposure enhances his chances of a call-up to next summer’s World Cup squad. He has won 84 caps for England and, after missing out on Euro 2024, was recalled by Thomas Tuchel for the March qualifiers against Albania and Latvia. Those appearances from the bench were followed by a start in last month’s narrow win over Andorra.

Last week Henderson was among the many friends and teammates to pay emotional tributes outside Anfield to Diogo Jota, the Liverpool forward who was tragically killed in a car accident in Spain.