After two years, Jordan Henderson is back in the Premier League. At Brentford FC, he will be reunited with old acquaintances and a big gap to fill.
The headlines won’t be quite as big as when he left, but even so, not everyone would have expected this news a few months ago: Jordan Henderson is returning to the Premier League at the age of 35. The long-time captain of Liverpool FC, who left the Reds in 2023 amid much criticism for moving to Saudi Arabia, is joining Brentford FC on a free transfer.
Henderson ended up staying at Al-Ettifaq, then coached by Steven Gerrard, for only six months before moving on to Ajax Amsterdam. There, he had held a leadership role until recently and even made it back into the English national team, but then asked for his contract to be terminated – clearing the way for a comeback on the island.
Brentford coach Andrews full of praise
He has a big gap to fill at Brentford. With captain Christian Nörgaard (Arsenal), regular goalkeeper Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen) and defender Ben Mee (currently without a club), three experienced players have left the club, which also lost successful coach Thomas Frank to Tottenham.
His successor thinks highly of Henderson. “We’ve looked closely at his recent games to see where he stands: he’s still phenomenally fit and he’s still phenomenally motivated to achieve something after already achieving so much,” Keith Andrews is quoted as saying. “Jordan is one of the most influential leaders in the modern Premier League.”
Henderson: Back in the national team since March
Henderson, who has played 492 competitive games for Liverpool, won the league title and the Champions League under Jürgen Klopp, among other things. In Brentford, he will meet three former teammates from his Liverpool days in Caoimhin Kelleher, Sepp van den Berg, and Fabio Carvalho, and says: “It’s nice to see some familiar faces.”
Henderson wants to continue to impress national team coach Thomas Tuchel in the Premier League, who brought him back into the Three Lions squad in March. He was not nominated by Gareth Southgate for the 2024 European Championship.