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Jordan Henderson is so desperate to get away from Saudi Arabia he could end up playing for ‘the worst manager in Premier League history’.
talkSPORT understands the former Liverpool captain will have a medical at Ajax today ahead of completing a move from Al Ettifaq.
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The England midfielder left Anfield in the summer, signing a lucrative deal in the Middle East, but he’s now desperate to get away after becoming dissatisfied with a number of different factors including the climate and his team’s poor form.
It looks increasingly likely that the 33-year-old will end up in Amsterdam, with talks progressing after their manager John van 't Schip confirmed the club’s interest.
Van 't Schip is Ajax’s third manager of the season, with the Dutch giants spectacularly failing to find the right man to replace the hugely-successful Erik ten Hag.
Things got incredibly toxic under Alfred Schreuder in 2022/23, and this season Maurice Steijn only lasted three months after guiding the giants into the relegation places.
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Hedwiges Maduro came in on a temporary basis, and now former player Van 't Schip has taken the role until the end of the season.
Things have stabilised with Ajax back in reaching distance of the top three Champions League places, but there was still a complete humiliation in December when they were knocked out of the KNVB Cup by a fourth-tier amateur side.
All suggestions are that Van 't Schip won’t be at the helm next season, and a recognisable face has thrown his hat in the ring to take over.
Talking about who could be Ajax’s next manager on Dutch show Renze, guest Frank de Boer said he hasn’t had any interest, but added: “They can always ask me, because Ajax is my club.”
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That suggestion has been warmly welcomed by many fans, with the club legend hugely impressing as manager from 2010 to 2016.
De Boer won four Eredivisie titles as a manager - to add to his five as a player - and looked like he could be a big success in coaching.
However, things didn’t turn out that way, with De Boer arriving at Inter with big expectations, only to record five wins and seven defeats in 14 games before being sacked.
Not to be deterred, Crystal Palace picked up the pieces in 2017, and things went even worse, with the 53-year-old lasting just five games, losing all four that were in the league.
De Boer returned to punditry as a result, and hit the headlines when he criticised Jose Mourinho’s use of Marcus Rashford, suggesting that a win-at-all-costs manager wasn’t the right fit for a developing player.
To say Mourinho went in hard would be an understatement.
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Speaking in his next press conference, the Manchester United manager said: “The worst manager in the history of the Premier League, Frank de Boer, seven matches, seven defeats, zero goals, was saying that it’s not good for Marcus Rashford to have a coach like me, because the most important thing for me is to win.
“If he was coached by Frank he would learn how to lose, because he lost every game.”
Things went slightly better in De Boer’s return to management, overseeing mixed spells at Atlanta United, the Netherlands national team and Al Jazira.
Nothing since has lived up to his incredible first stint at Ajax, though, and with managers certainly not queuing up to take the poisoned chalice in Amsterdam, Henderson could well start 2024/25 with Mourinho’s words ringing in his ears.
