Jordan Henderson and Ajax receive disastrous news

Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk

• Updated: 15 Jan 2024 12:48 GMT
• 2 min read

Jordan Henderson can forget about signing for Ajax, according to a report.

The Daily Mail states that Al-Ettifaq will almost certainly not cooperate in a January transfer.

Henderson flew to Abu Dhabi on Sunday to join coach Steven Gerrard's squad for a two-week training camp.

The former Liverpool star, who is 33 years old, will be told in a conversation with Al-Ettifaq club management this week that they will not want to sit at the negotiating table with anyone.

The club from Dammam simply does not want to say goodbye to the English international after just six months.

Henderson transfer on brink of collapse

De Telegraaf had written on Monday that Al-Ettifaq 'has so far refused to mention an asking price' and that Ajax are therefore in the waiting room.

Tyler Alexander-Arnold, Henderson's agent who works with Muy Manero's Nathan van Kooperen in the Netherlands, is in talks with Al-Ettifaq about how the midfielder can leave.

De Telegraaf also calls the reports that Ajax has already reached a personal agreement with the Englishman 'premature'.

The personal demands of Henderson, who is willing to make a significant compromise in terms of salary and wants to sign for longer than a year and a half, do not seem to be a problem for Ajax, though.

Players from England who return to the United Kingdom within a year after Brexit will pay 47 percent tax on their foreign income. In the Netherlands, Henderson would pay considerably less.

"They are talking. He still has to arrange things in Saudi Arabia," Ajax coach John van't Schip told ESPN on Sunday. "I can't say anything more about it. He would be a good fit for us, that's no secret because we are missing a number of people in midfield.”

A possible transfer to Europe would be especially beneficial for Henderson's chances in the England national team. The idea is that he will remain more in the field of view of national coach Gareth Southgate. Henderson would like to go to Euro 2024 in Germany next summer.

Juventus is also interested in Henderson, but the Italian club is only willing and able to loan the veteran for a maximum of 18 months. Ajax wants to buy the midfielder and put him on the payroll for a longer period of more than a year and a half.