Simon Jordan shares what’s really shocking him about Jordan Henderson’s move to Ajax

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Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson looks set to join his second club in a matter of six months this week.

Having been pushing for an exit from Al Ettifaq since the early days of January, Henderson is finally about to get his wish. The 33-year-old is all set to join Eredivisie giants Ajax.

The transfer has come as a surprise to many, with Henderson barely having got his knees under the table in Saudi Arabia.

Following that pattern TalkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has declared his surprise that the club of Steven Gerrard and Gini Wijnaldum made it so easy for the England international to leave.

“Does it make him look like a man of character that overcomes adversity and ultimately shows you that when things aren’t going his way, that he’s capable of turning it around and making it better?” posed the pundit.

“I don’t think it’s great either way, it proves the point that the Saudi league have got a long way to go to be able to create the backdrop where the world’s best players will want to play in it. It also shows the indulged and pampered natures of the modern day footballer that the moment they don’t get what they want, they can change it. I’m surprised they [Ettifaq] have made it so easy for him.”

Henderson walks out on Ettifaq

Ultimately, nobody comes out of this looking good. But if there’s one party who can really feel aggrieved, then it’s Henderson’s soon to be former club.

Al Ettifaq paid decent money to bring Henderson from Anfield in the summer. Half-a-season on and they’re set to lose him for nothing.

It’s also a big blow to their hopes of attracting other players as well as on the pitch for Gerrard. Henderson was his captain after all.

But when a player is as desperate to go as Jordan seemingly was, then there’s not a great deal you can do.

Henderson had made his mind up that he’d had enough, and that was that. Just as Liverpool could do nothing to stand in his way of a mega offer in the summer, the same has come to pass again.

What we do think is slightly unfair is Jordan – the pundit not the player – critiquing Henderson’s ability to knuckle down and turn things around. The veteran did exactly that when Brendan Rodgers tried to sell him to Fulham back in 2012. When the going got tough, Henderson did tend to roll up his sleeves.

We don’t think his desperation to turn his back on the Saudi project really has anything to do with that. The former Reds No.14 probably just realised that he doesn’t have many years of his career left and doesn’t want to spend them playing in-front of miniscule crowds.

Henderson probably isn’t the most popular man in Dammam right now. In fact, he isn’t a popular man just about anywhere apart from maybe Amsterdam right now. The work to rebuild his reputation begins here.