Brentford have signed Jordan Henderson on a free transfer.
The former Liverpool midfielder, who was a free agent after leaving Ajax, has signed a two-year deal.
Brentford recently lost their captain and first-choice defensive midfielder Christian Norgaard to Arsenal, having already seen head coach Thomas Frank depart for Tottenham, with Keith Andrews appointed as the new Bees boss.
Although he has just turned 35, Brentford believe Henderson, who has 84 England caps, will bring vital experience and quality to their squad and dressing room.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Andrews said: “When we became aware of Jordan’s availability, it was a pretty simple decision.
“We did our due diligence around his recent games to see where he is. He’s still phenomenally fit and he’s still phenomenally motivated to achieve things in the game, having already achieved a lot.
“With the void of experienced players leaving the building – Christian Norgaard, Mark Flekken and Ben Mee – it was important to replace that.
The 35-year-old left Ajax on July 9
“We’ve got a pretty young squad overall and we’ve got a lot of club experience, which is really important, with the likes of Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen, Ethan Pinnock and Josh Dasilva, who is still at the club doing rehab.
“But what Jordan will bring is that he has been one of the most influential leaders in modern Premier League years. He’s been at the forefront of driving for titles and Champions Leagues at a fantastic 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’s the exact way we want to be as a football club.
“He will drive standards and be a brilliant addition to the squad.”
Henderson and Norgaard compared
A deeper dive into the stats of Henderson and Norgaard from last season suggests they share a similar profile.
There are marked similarities in the midfielders’ heat maps, as well as where they made their defensive actions.
While Norgaard provided more of a goal threat, won more duels and completed more ball recoveries, Henderson created more chances and bettered the Dane’s numbers in terms of passes completed and final-third passes completed
In
Jordan Henderson – Ajax, free
Caoimhin Kelleher – Liverpool, £18m
Antoni Milambo – Feyenoord, £18.8m
Michael Kayode – Fiorentina, undisclosed
Romelle Donovan – Birmingham, undisclosed
Theo Mawene – Preston, undisclosed
Out
Christian Norgaard – Arsenal, £15m
Mark Flekken – Bayer Leverkusen, £11m
Ben Mee – released
Ethan Brierley – Exeter, loan
Tony Yogane – Dundee, loan
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And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
