England midfielder Henderson to leave Ajax on free transfer, say reports

AMSTERDAM :England international Jordan Henderson is to leave Ajax Amsterdam on a free transfer after 18 months at the club, Dutch media said on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old, who joined the club from Al-Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia in January 2024, has proven a valuable asset as Ajax finished runners-up in the Eredivisie last month and won direct entry into the Champions League group phase.

Henderson, who captained the club, still has one year left on his contract.

Ajax granted Henderson a few extra days off after the death of former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota but on Wednesday he reported to the club's training camp in the Netherlands to say goodbye to his teammates, the reports said.

There was no announcement from Ajax, for whom Henderson has played 57 times, scoring once.

In March, Henderson won a surprise England recall in new manager Thomas Tuchel’s first squad after being left out of Euro 2024. He has since moved to 84 caps after playing in three World Cup qualifiers this year against Albania, Latvia and Andorra.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)