Fabrizio Romano has explained the length of the contract Jordan Henderson will be signing when he becomes an Ajax player today.
Henderson has been back in the UK to prepare for his next move after Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq allowed him to tear up his contract just six months after signing him from Liverpool.
Ajax have established themselves as the club who will be taking Henderson next as they aim to steady the ship after a rocky couple of seasons for a club of their calibre.
Henderson is due to fly to Amsterdam today (Thursday) in order to finalise his move to the Eredivisie.
Ahead of his departure, Romano has provided an explainer on the contract Henderson has agreed to in the Netherlands.
According to the respected reporter, Henderson will be signing a ‘fixed’ contract until 2026, which will not contain any option to automatically extend, unlike many deals do these days.
Should all go to plan, the next two-and-a-half years of his career will be spent as an Ajax player.
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After his brief interlude in the Middle East, Ajax will be the first club in mainland Europe that the former Sunderland star has represented.
They have booked him in for his medical and for him to officially put pen to paper on his contract.
According to the Daily Mirror, Henderson will become Ajax’s highest paid player on a contract worth £85,000 per week, rising to £110,000 per week with bonuses.
Unexpected move becoming reality
Henderson will be 36 years old by the time his deal with Ajax expires, so they could well be the last elite club he gets to play for.
He will largely be remembered for his long service to Liverpool, where he became captain and lifted a Premier League trophy within a 12-year spell.
His time in Saudi Arabia has been less successful. Despite playing under his former teammate Steven Gerrard, Henderson has struggled for form in his 19 appearances for Al-Ettifaq.
The England international, who is still hopeful of a place in the Euro 2024 squad, will be aiming for more consistency with Ajax.
The team he is joining are currently fifth in the Eredivisie and have also reached the knockout play-off round of the Europa Conference League, in which they will face Bodo/Glimt next month.
It will be Henderson’s first taste of that competition after he previously won the Champions League and became a Europa League runner-up with Liverpool.
Ajax have designed the move to ensure the younger parts of their squad benefit from the experience and leadership of Henderson, who would ordinarily be outside the age profile they would turn to.
But these past couple of seasons have not been ordinary for Ajax and they have needed to shake things up on and off the pitch.
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Jordan Henderson: Fabrizio Romano reveals Ajax contract details as former Liverpool star flies for medical
