Jordan Henderson has arrived in Amsterdam to finalise his move from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq to Ajax.
The 33-year-old former Liverpool captain was pictured arriving at Schiphol Airport and then being driven away by the club’s general manager Herman Pinkster.
Henderson is expected to have a medical before formalising the terms on what is reported to be a two-and-a-half-year deal, although he will take a substantial cut from his reported £350,000-a-week wages in Saudi Arabia.
However, he is unlikely to be able to feature against RKC Waalwijk on Sunday as reports suggest, as a non-EU national, Henderson’s work permit is likely to take up to two weeks to be granted.
Mail Sport reported on Wednesday how Henderson had agreed a deal to terminate his contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq – just six months after joining – and flew back to England to complete negotiations over a shock move to the Netherlands.
Jordan Henderson as filmed arriving in Amsterdam before being driven away by Ajax general manager Herman Pinkster
The midfielder flew from Birmingham, where he went to complete negotiations with the club
The former Liverpool captain will join Ajax on a free transfer, but the move will cost him millions in tax after he chose to walk away from a three-year contract with Al-Ettifaq.
Al-Ettifaq are understood to have reluctantly agreed to let Henderson leave during negotiations at the club’s winter training camp in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, with the 33-year-old securing the crucial concession that they would not demand a fee.
Henderson has represented himself during the negotiations and is expected to conclude a deal with Ajax in the next few days. An agreement has yet to be reached on the length of his contract, but that is not thought to be a sticking point.
It is understood Ajax are looking to offer him an 18-month deal with the option for a further 12, which could be tweaked into a permanent two-and-a-half year deal.
A few details remain to be ironed out but if everything was to go to plan, he could end up making his debut at Heracles on January 27.
News of Henderson undergoing his medical comes after the Telegraph reported on Wednesday that the player has not even received a penny of his mouth-watering £350,000-a-week wages at Al-Ettifaq, having deferred payments in the last six months.
Worse still, the report suggests that according to certain sources…