Top Dutch reporter shares Jordan Henderson to Sunderland update as ‘the way is clear’

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The sight of Jordan Henderson watching on from Wembley stands with a smile as wide as the River Wear meant speculation regarding a Sunderland homecoming – particularly as Premier League football returns to the Stadium of Light – was always going to rear its head.

If the former Liverpool captain feels he has unfinished business at his hometown club, then what better time to cement his legacy in the red and white shirt?

“[Sunderland] is my club,” Jordan Henderson said in January. “Ever since I was a boy of six or seven years old.”

At the time, Henderson insisted that his plan was to stay with Dutch giants Ajax for the foreseeable future. But after trying and failing to force through a mid-season switch to Monaco, and with Sunderland now officially a top-flight club again for the first time in nearly a decade, TBR Football reveals that suggestions of a Henderson return are not just a classic case of ‘two plus two equals five’.

Dutch reporter talks up Jordan Henderson to Sunderland rumours

TBR claim that Henderson is expected to leave Ajax with only a year left on his contract.

And while a reunion with Steven Gerrard at Rangers cannot be ruled out – his former Liverpool skipper could yet return for a second spell in the Ibrox dugout – another stint in the red and white of Sunderland is most likely for a player who joined the Black Cats academy all the way back in 1998.

Especially as Dortmund and Frankfurt do battle over Jobe Bellingham. The England U21 star’s seemingly inevitable departure leaving the door wide open for the Wearside Warrior to take his place.

Jordan Henderson was at Wembley when Regis Le Bris’ side came from a goal down to stun Sheffield United in Saturday’s Championship play-off final.

The Guardian’s Ed Aarons, meanwhile, claims that Sunderland are now ‘considering’ a deal for the 2019/20 Premier League champion as they look to add some top-flight experience to a very young squad.

And, Speaking on De Telegraaf’s Kick-off podcast, Dutch reporter Mike Verweij is putting forward his own two pence.

“He is being linked to Rangers. Steven Gerrard is said to be the new manager there and he would like to bring Henderson over there,” Verweij begins.

“But Sunderland is his old club. And, of course, he wasn’t there in the stands [at Wembley] for nothing.”

Francesco Farioli departure could see Henderson leave Ajax

Verweij, one of the most respected sources in Dutch football, believes that the departure of head coach Francesco Farioli could pave the way for Henderson to head for the Amsterdam Arena exit himself.

Farioli, a 36-year-old coach who honed his talents under Roberto de Zerbi at Sassuolo, stepped down after Ajax gifted the Eredivisie title to PSV Eindhoven with a remarkable collapse at the tail-end of the season.

“Ajax want to get rid of [Henderson’s] salary,” Verweij adds. “That was one of the conflicts between the Ajax management and Francesco Farioli.

“Farioli really wanted to keep Henderson. So I think, now that Farioli is gone, Henderson wants to go too. He felt a lot of confidence [from the manager]. So I think the way is clear.

“I think the road to one of those two clubs [Rangers or Sunderland] is open.”

The Sunderland-born Henderson made 79 appearances for the Black Cats before sealing a £20 million move to Liverpool during the summer of 2011.