Jordan Henderson‘s move to Al Ettifaq turned out to be a damp squib. The England international became one of the first big names to leave Saudi Arabia and made a surprise move to Ajax. As the midfielder prepares to embark on this new chapter, a Chelsea icon has cautioned Henderson, insisting the player ‘will get a big surprise’ at Ajax.

Speaking on ESPN FC, Mario Melchiot dipped his toes in Henderson’s controversial exit from Al Ettifaq. The 47-year-old touted the midfielder’s move to the Eredivisie side as quite ‘interesting’ because of Ajax’s ‘develop and sell’ policy, involving young talents in their first team. Melchiot claimed that even Henderson wanted to play for de Godenzonen. Hendo flew to England and urged his agent, also the brother of Trent Alexander Arnold, to get the deal done. The former Netherlands defender also claimed that, due to paperwork, Henderson would need to wait for his debut.

Melchiot said, “He will get a big surprise when he plays teams like that because everybody that he’s gonna face now, will try to really make him feel like ‘what are you doing here? We want to test you.'” The former Wigan defender asserted that his experience is what matters most to Ajax. “He will need to talk to the younger team and he probably will expect them to play the football that he was used to when he was playing at Liverpool. At Ajax, some are good, some have to learn a lot, and that’s why he will be a father figure coming into a football team,” added the Dutch legend.

While Melchiot has offered Henderson his wisdom over the challenges he might face at Ajax, another Dutch insider has slammed the former Reds star for moving to Amsterdam. 

Jordan Henderson was criticized for choosing the ‘worst side’ 

Dutch expert Marcel van der Kraan doesn’t seem to be in favor of Jordan Henderson’s decision to choose Ajax. He blasted the Amsterdam club, calling them the ‘worst side in history,’ emphasizing that for a century they had never finished last in the league or gone out of the cup early against student amateur teams. 

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The Dutch pundit went on to say that the former Liverpool midfielder’s only benefit is that he is close to home. Henderson expressed excitement about the possibility of playing in the Eredivisie, but the expert portrayed a bleak picture by exposing the unfavorable truth that Ajax is now having difficulties on the field.

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