Brentford have completed the signing of Jordan Henderson after Ajax agreed to end his contract a year early. The England midfielder has a two-year deal and becomes the second arrival since Keith Andrews’ appointment as head coach.
“After a couple of years away I still have that fire to come back and play in the Premier League again,” he told Brentford’s social media channels. “Obviously it’s the best league in the world, with the best players. So it’s a big challenge but one I’m keen on doing. When I was given the opportunity by Brentford and after speaking with the club it became an easy decision.”
Henderson, who turned 35 last month, has 84 England caps and was recalled to the squad in March by Thomas Tuchel. He spent 12 years with Liverpool before a controversial move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq in 2023.
“He’s still phenomenally fit and he’s still phenomenally motivated to achieve things in the game, having already achieved a lot,” Andrews told Brentford’s website. “With the void of experienced players leaving the building – Christian Nørgaard, Mark Flekken and Ben Mee – it was important to replace that.
“He has been one of the most influential leaders in modern Premier League years,” Andrews said. “He’s been at the forefront of driving for titles and Champions Leagues at a fantastic football club … He will drive standards and be a brilliant addition to the squad.”
Brentford have lost their head coach, Thomas Frank, to Tottenham and captain, Nørgaard, to Arsenal, while their top scorer last season, Bryan Mbeumo, is being pursued by Manchester United. Antoni Milambo, a 20-year-old Dutch playmaker, was the first player to join after Andrews took over.
The philanthropist and businessman Gary Lubner and filmmaker Sir Matthew Vaughn have become minority shareholders at Brentford. They are understood to have taken less than 20% of the club, where Matthew Benham remains the majority shareholder.
A statement from Brentford said: “Equity and financing from the new shareholders will not only enable greater investment in the squad but also create enhanced commercial opportunities and help grow Brentford’s reach and impact locally and beyond.”
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Vaughn, whose films include the Kingsman franchise, Kick-Ass and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, said: “My journey with Brentford began 25 years ago when an actor suggested it would be a ‘great club to invest in’ and I’ve followed their progress ever since.”
He said that some years later he took up a suggestion from an agent to attend a game, where he met Benham and the managament team. “All I could hear was the voice of the actor who first told me about the club echoing in my head, saying: ‘You should have listened to me, it would have been much cheaper 25 years ago!’”
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