Brentford confirms signing of Jordan Henderson
Brentford can confirm the signing of Premier League and Champions League-winning captain Jordan Henderson with a two-year contract.
Henderson, an international of England with 84 caps for the three lions, joins the bees on a free transfer after leaving Ajax this summer.
The midfielder returns to the Premier League after short stints in Saudi Arabia with al-Etifaq and then in the Netherlands with Ajax.
Before that, Henderson was at Liverpool, where he spent 12 years and the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Two League Cups, Community Shield, Super Cup and Club World Cup won.
Head coach Keith Andrews, Brentford, said: “When we became aware of the availability of Jordan, it was a fairly simple decision.
“We have done our due diligence around his recent games to see where he is: he is still phenomenal fit and he is still phenomenally motivated to achieve things in the game, after he has already achieved a lot.
“With the emptiness of experienced players who leave the building – Christian Nørgaard, Mark Flekken and Ben – it was important to replace that.
“We generally have a fairly young team, and we have a lot of cluber experience, which is really important, such as Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen, Ethan Pinnock and Josh Dasilva, who is still at the Rehabilitation club.
“But what Jordan will bring is that he has been one of the most influential leaders in the modern Premier League years. He is in the lead for titles and champion competitions in a fantastic football club.
“He also has experience at international level with England and with that comes a level of experience, professionalism and dedication to his profession – that is precisely the way we want to be as a football club.
“He will stimulate standards and be a brilliant addition to the team.”
Brentford recently lost their captain and first-choice defensive midfielder Christian Norgaard of Arsenal, after he had already seen head coach Thomas Frank, to Tottenham, appointed with Keith Andrews as the new bee boss.
Although he has just turned 35, Brentford believes that Henderson, who has 84 caps in England, will bring essential experience and quality to their team and dressing room.
Henderson and Norgaard compared
A deeper dive in the statistics of Henderson and Norgaard last season suggests that they share a similar profile.
There are clear similarities in the heat cards of the midfielders, as well as where they did their defensive actions.
While Norgaard gave more of a target threat, won more duels and completed more ball repair, Henderson created more opportunities and improved the figures of the DANE in terms of completed steps and completed passages completed
Brentford Transfers
In
Jordan Henderson – Ajax, free
Caoimhin Kelleher – Liverpool, £ 18m
Antoni Milambo – Feyenoord, £ 18.8 million
Michael Kayode – Fiorentina, not announced
Romelle Donovan – Birmingham, not announced
Theo Mawene – Preston, not announced
Out
Christian Norgaard – Arsenal, £ 15m
Mark Flekken – Bayer Leverkusen, £ 11m
Ben Mee – released
Ethan Brierley – Exeter, Loan
Tony Yogane – Dundee, Loan