Sunderland have been linked with a move for academy graduate Jordan Henderson, and an exciting new update has emerged over the October international break.
Sunderland eyeing Henderson reunion
The Black Cats sit top of the Championship table currently, ahead of their return to domestic action after the two-week break this weekend, and some interesting transfer news has also emerged of late. The most high-profile rumoured piece of business is regarding a reunion with Henderson, who left Sunderland back in the summer of 2011, sealing a big-money move to Liverpool. Regis Le Bris’ side are thought to be keen on bringing him back to the Club during the January transfer window.
The Black Cats are even said to have made contact with the veteran England international, who is currently plying his trade at Ajax, following a doomed spell at Saudi Pro League Club Al-Ettifaq.
Former England international Carlton Palmer has urged Sunderland to get a deal for Henderson over the line, saying: “What a return that would be if he could go back to Sunderland. They’re flying high at the top of the Championship, and signing someone like Henderson could be the catalyst that sees them get back to the Premier League. That would be an unbelievable bit of business from Sunderland. It would be great for the supporters.”
“Special” Henderson open to Sunderland return
According to a fresh report from Football Insider, Henderson is now “open” to sealing a sensational return to Sunderland, as he looks to potentially leave Ajax, where he has found himself out of the team. It is claimed that the 34-year-old “would welcome a return to his boyhood Club despite the drop in level it would represent”, adding that “he believes he could play a crucial role in their promotion push”.
To see Henderson back at Sunderland in the twilight of his career would be so popular with many supporters, having initially burst onto the scene at his boyhood Club as a highly-rated teenager. The Englishman has enjoyed a wonderful career, captaining Liverpool to Champions League and Premier League glory, among many other trophies, and Jurgen Klopp heaped praise on him upon his departure from Anfield in 2023.
“In the future when people are looking back then they will realise Jordan Henderson was the skipper of [our] most successful squad until then – I hope we can create another one – and the skipper of the first Premier League title winners and all these kind of things. That’s a special career. He should be, and will be in the future, proud of it.”
At 34, Henderson isn’t the force he was four or five years ago, but his vast experience and underrated technical ability could be a wonderful asset for this talented young Sunderland squad in the second half of the season.
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This could be an amazing piece of business.
His know-how of getting over the finish line in big games could be invaluable when the business end of the season arrives, and finishing his career at the Club where it all started would be a fitting way to eventually bow out, hopefully back in the Premier League.
The report does state that Sunderland are “ready to offer a short-term deal” to Henderson with the “option to extend” next summer, which feels like an ideal scenario, should the veteran midfielder struggle to replicate his old form.