After missing time due to injury, Jordan Henderson made a comeback to the Ajax starting lineup for the Dutch team’s 2-1 Europa League loss to Eintracht Frankfurt. But after receiving an unwarranted yellow card and receiving a suspension, the England international will not play for his team in the return leg in Germany.
Since departing Liverpool in 2023, the English midfielder has reportedly had difficulty locating a permanent residence. With the Saudi Pro League team Al-Ettifaq, Henderson started a new voyage, but it didn’t work out, and he was on the move once more in early 2024.
With Ajax, an Eredivisie team, the box-to-box general joined European royalty this time. Henderson was embroiled in a major transfer drama during the 2025 winter transfer window after assisting his side in recovering from their dismal 2023–2024 season.
Henderson, who was trying to get a transfer to AS Monaco in France, lost the captaincy before he got into a furious argument with media about it. The 34-year-old did a big U-turn and chose to remain in Amsterdam, but how has he fared since then?
The Return of Jordan Henderson to the Ajax Team
Against Eintracht Frankfurt, the midfielder returned from an injury.
For the first time since he recovered from an injury sustained in mid-February, Henderson was back in the starting lineup. He returned with a bang, setting up Brian Brobbey for the Amsterdam-based team’s lone goal of the match.
The midfielder’s outburst to Italian referee Simone Sozza resulted in an unnecessary booking, but this wasn’t the only major influence he had on the game. Henderson was warned for his violent response to the official when he objected to a ruling, which caused his team to lose the lead after taking an early lead. He is now unable to play in the second leg due to the yellow card, as the player himself acknowledges:
“Yes, that was incredibly foolish. I was pretty annoyed because I felt like they were squandering my time. I was foolish. It’s not ideal because I naturally wish to be included in the group that will attempt to obtain a result the following week.”
Henderson has six assists from his 37 games across all competitions so far, but he hasn’t been able to score from midfield. Despite off-field problems, his presence in the middle of the pitch has been crucial for the team’s efforts to return to the Champions League next season.
The former Liverpool player continues to cover every blade of grass with an average of nearly 70 touches, one critical pass, and four ball recoveries every ninety minutes. This demonstrates the player’s professionalism, even though he has occasionally felt out of place in the Dutch capital.
Henderson Faces Criticism For ‘Unacceptable’ Actions
A former Premier League star has jumped to his defence
Dutch icon Wesley Sneijder gave Henderson harsh criticism after he was given a yellow card at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday night. The former hero of Inter Milan stated:
“You may obviously talk to the referee as a captain, but you shouldn’t yell “f*** off” in a condescending manner. This is so dumb, yet he admits it himself. Especially coming from a captain, this is completely inappropriate.
Theo Janssen, another panellist, concurred wholeheartedly with that conclusion. “This is just very stupid and you are letting your team down,” he continued, pointing out Francesco Farioli’s response, saying, “That image says it all, that trainer is furious.”
Another former Netherlands international, Rafael van der Vaart, believes Henderson’s value to the team has been minimised, despite the fact that he has been criticised for his activities during the January transfer window. He told talkSPORT, citing the midfielder’s skill and experience as assets to his team:
“I think Henderson is a really good player but he also needs to play in a team like Liverpool where has so much quality around him that he is the player that holds everybody together.”
“Now, because he’s a big name and he came to Ajax, everybody in Holland had high expectations because he’s a big player from Liverpool and the England squad.”
The former Tottenham star was praising the Ajax captain, saying: “He was always the best player on the pitch because Ajax didn’t have a lot of time with the ball when he played against the better teams, like PSV and Feyenoord.”
“He is crucial to both Ajax and the younger generation. Although I’m satisfied with him, I believe that expectations were a bit too high in Holland.
Alex Kroes, the technical director of Ajax, has also officially stated the reason behind Henderson’s wish to leave the team:
“Jordan’s problem has been that he hasn’t been appreciated at Ajax since day one. Everyone in the Netherlands, however, has an opinion on everything. ‘way too pricey’ was a label that was applied to him way rapidly.
“That eventually begins to wear a person down as well. It is quite unfortunate because he is so valuable to Ajax.
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