England midfielder Jordan Henderson is set to sign for
Brentford after his exit from Ajax earlier this week.
The 35-year-old will join the Bees on a two-year deal after
the Dutch club agreed to end his contract a year early.
Henderson had considerable interest from top clubs in
England and Europe, but Brentford have won the race to sign the former
Liverpool skipper.
Playing in the Premier League will provide Henderson with
the platform to stay in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad before next summer’s
World Cup.
The 84-cap England midfielder will help plug the gap vacated
by former Bees captain Christian Norgaard, who has left for Arsenal.
The deal formalities are expected to be confirmed in the
coming days.
The move to Brentford will return Henderson to the Premier
League after he left Liverpool in 2023. During his 12 years at Anfield,
Henderson won the Premier League - the club’s first league title in 30 years -
Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups, Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup and
Community Shield.
Henderson left the Reds to join Al-Ettifa,q but his time in
the Saudi Pro League lasted less than six months before he joined Ajax in
January 2024.
He made more than 50 appearances for Ajax but exited the
club having narrowly missed out on the league title, with PSV Eindhoven crowned
champions on the final day of last season.
Henderson was left out of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024
squad, as he had not played for England since 2023. After Tuchel was appointed
England head coach in January, Henderson has featured in both of the German’s
squads, making three appearances.
Meanwhile, Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva will be commemorated with several tributes at Liverpool’s friendly at Preston North End on Sunday. Portugal forward Jota and Silva died in a car crash last week in the Spanish province of Zamora.
Liverpool’s match at Deepdale is their first since Jota’s passing, which the club described as an “unimaginable loss”. There will be a rendition of Liverpool’s anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, while Preston captain Ben Whiteman will lay a wreath in front of the away fans.
The Lillywhites will pay pre-match tributes and have created a commemorative edition of the matchday programme. A minute’s silence will be observed alongside televised tributes, with both sets of players wearing black armbands. Jota scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool, helping them win the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022 and the Premier League title last season. He played his final match for Portugal as they beat Spain in the final of the Nations League on 8 June. He scored 14 goals in 49 internationals.
