Former West Ham United defender Anton Ferdinand has watched the Premier League outfit make a concerted effort to reduce the age of their rather elderly squad this summer.
Vladimir Coufal, Lukasz Fabianski and Aaron Cresswell departed when their contracts expired on July 1st. Danny Ings has gone too, alongside Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma.
Six Premier League veterans with an average age of 34.
Graham Potter would like to move Tomas Soucek on as well, even if the evergreen box-crasher remains one of very few consistent goalscorers in his West Ham United roster. Emerson Palmieri is up for sale as well, while Hammers bosses will not stand in Guido Rodriguez’s way after one disappointing season in English football for a man who gave the impression of trudging through treacle.
So as West Ham plan to ‘reinvent’ Potter’s squad – putting plans in place for a younger, faster, more athletic collection of players – it feels unlikely that a now-35-year-old Jordan Henderson will be welcomed with open arms at the London Stadium.
Though this has not stopped Anton Ferdinand from clamouring for Henderson’s return to the Premier League stage.
Jordan Henderson applauds after Ajax v Fc Twente - Dutch Eredivisie
Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images
Anton Ferdinand urges West Ham United to sign Ajax ace Jordan Henderson
The former Liverpool captain is set to terminate his contract at Dutch giants Ajax, per The Times. Reportedly, in an attempt to boost his World Cup chances on the back of a shock England return under Thomas Tuchel.
The prospect of an emotional Sunderland homecoming continues to spark much debate on Wearside.
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But, having watched Henderson blossom into one of the most fiercely-competitive, driven footballers of his generation, Ferdinand believes that West Ham should consider breaking recent tradition while bringing a veteran midfielder to the capital.
“I’d take him at West Ham, I’ll say that now,” says Ferdinand, who made over 200 Premier League appearances for the Hammers and the Black Cats from 2003 to 2011.
“He’s still got legs. He can still get around the pitch, which is something that we need in the middle of the park at West Ham. He’s a leader, you know.
“And I say this all the time but I knew from the minute that he came in at [Sunderland], and I started being around him, I saw things in him that I knew he was going to go on and do what he has done in the game.”
Former Liverpool captain Henderson linked with Sunderland return
Ferdinand recalls watching a baby-faced Henderson eye up then-Sunderland skipper Dean Whitehead. If the captain could do 20 pull-ups, Henderson set himself a target of 25, for instance.
Some 17 years since he made his debut in those red and white stripes, Ferdinand still believes that Henderson’s ability to lead by example while dictating proceedings from the centre of the park would come in very handy for any top-flight club lacking both experience and technical quality.
“Sunderland, it would be a great fit,” adds the one-time Reading, Queens Park Rangers and St Mirren stopper. “It would be a great homecoming for him. Someone they would need, who knows the Premier League inside out. A leader of men.
“As a West Ham fan, sitting here talking to you guys, we need midfielders. And I would take him all day long.”
Hammers News can confirm, however, that head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay has placed Raphael Onyedika at the top of the club’s midfield shortlist.
Onyedika, who represents Club Brugge and the Nigerian national team, is eleven years Henderson’s junior and reflects the shift towards younger, more long-term reinforcements.