Jordan Henderson risks Ajax wrath by criticising two transfers, with Wolves involved (original) (raw)

Ajax captain Jordan Henderson has publicly called out the sales of two of the club’s most exciting forwards after the Dutch giants fell down to ninth in the Eredivisie table over the weekend.

Ajax have had mixed fortunes so far this term. They have won all of their Europa League qualifying games, which has seen them reach the main stage of the competition, where they will come up against the likes of Besiktas, Real Sociedad, Lazio and Galatasaray.

Francesco Farioli’s side began their league campaign by beating Heerenveen 1-0, though they lost 2-1 to NAC Breda in their next outing.

A 5-0 thrashing of Fortuna Sittard followed, but Ajax dropped more points on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Go Ahead Eagles.

It is still early in the season, and Ajax do have two games in hand on most of their Dutch rivals. However, they are already 11 points behind leaders PSV and nine points off second-placed AZ Alkmaar.

Pressure could soon start to ramp up on both the players and Farioli if PSV and AZ begin to run away with the league. Ajax won the title three times between 2019 and 2022, but they have since fallen down to third and then fifth last term.

Ajax lost two important attackers during the summer as Carlos Forbs joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on an initial loan which will automatically become permanent if certain conditions are met, while Steven Bergwijn headed to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.

Following the disappointing result at Go Ahead Eagles, Henderson criticised Ajax for letting Forbs and Bergwijn depart.

Ajax news: Jordan Henderson unhappy with two sales

“They are two great players. Every team would have missed them, of course. But we still have other players, who are also good. Players who can create chances and are especially dangerous in the final third,” he said (via the Daily Mirror).

“We managed to do that against Fortuna, but not tonight. Hopefully we learn from it. It’s also not ideal to lose one or two of your wingers on the final day of the transfer market. We have lost quality.

“But with the guys who played today, it was possible. We have to help them get into one-on-one situations, but they didn’t bring anything. It’s not just the wingers, but it has to be better.”

Henderson’s comments are unlikely to please the Ajax hierarchy, who could not refuse the money Al-Ittihad were offering for Bergwijn.

Ajax also felt they had done well to bolster their forward line by bringing in players such as Wout Weghorst and Bertrand Traore.

But it will be a tough task for Farioli to guide Ajax to the title in his first season at the club, especially as reigning champions PSV are flying once again and can boast exciting players such as Johan Bakayoko, Joey Veerman and Jerdy Schouten.

Meanwhile, Wolves have been overtaken in the race for Burnley winger Luca Koleosho by Newcastle United. The 20-year-old has been given a valuation of £40million (€48m / US$53.5m) by Burnley.

Ajax transfer business

Ajax bought just one first-team player in the summer transfer window as they signed Weghorst from Burnley in a deal worth €2.38m.

The Eredivisie side dipped into the free agent market and signed Bertrand Traore following the expiration of his contract at Villarreal.

Ajax academy graduate Davy Klassen returned to the club for a third spell after leaving Inter Milan at the end of the 2023/24 season.

Alongside those permanent deals, centre-back Daniele Rugani also joined Ajax on a season-long loan deal from Juventus.

Ajax sold six players in the summer and the most expensive of those was the sale of Bergwijn to Al-Ittihad, who spent €21m on the winger.

Georges Mikautadze (€13m), Francisco Conceicao (€10.5m), Geronimo Rulli (€4m), Jorge Sanchez (€3m) and Silvano Vos (€3m) also left on permanent deals.

Carlos Forbs left on transfer deadline day to join Wolves on a season-long loan deal, which includes a €2.5m loan fee and an option to buy for €13.5m next summer.

Overall, Ajax made €57m through departures and spent just €2.38m, taking their net spend in the summer transfer window to a profit of €54.62m (£45.4m).