**Here at Sport Witness, we’re well accustomed to a bit of Dutch nastiness. Comments from pundits in particular tend to often be on the nasty side.**
This week, [Chelsea](https://sportwitness.co.uk/chelsea/) midfielder Jordan Henderson finds himself in the spotlight. He’s of particular interest to the Dutch press thanks to his time at Ajax.
The 36-year-old joined the Dutch giants in 2024, signing on a free transfer after his ill-fated spell at Al-Ettifaq. The hope was that he could be the older head in a young Dutch team.
But his time at the club would only last a year and 57 appearances before he was back in the Premier League with Brentford. It’s fair to say that the Dutch press were less than impressed with that year in Amsterdam, regularly questioning the veteran and the point of the move.
**Shining at Chelsea**
----------------------
Now Jordan Henderson is shining at Chelsea, after joining the Blues in the summer. This weekend was his best performance to date as he bagged two goals and an assist in the 5-1 defeat of Bournemouth.
But it seems while everyone in England was impressed, the Dutch press were not.
_“I thought Henderson was a useless, run-of-the-mill footballer,”_ Derksen begins on the show Vandaag Inside.
_“He made absolutely no impression in the Netherlands, and then he went back to England. I thought he’ll end up at some second-division club. Now he’s starting for Chelsea and has fired in two goals, each one better than the last.”_
**Unconvinced by English praise**
---------------------------------
Valentijn Driessen is having absolutely none of that though. He remains convinced that the Chelsea midfielder is useless.
_“So, you think someone is good just because they mishit the ball twice?”_ Valentijn Driessen hit back.
_“For him, that is a mishit, because he never strikes them that well. He must be delivering some kind of performance, though._
_“Perhaps he’s useful as a sort of ‘water carrier’ among all those stars. It amounts to nothing. I don’t like that type of player.” René van der Gijp is slightly more enthusiastic about the Chelsea midfielder._
_“In England, they view him as the ideal professional,”_ he concluded.
_“A bit like what Dusan Tadic thinks of himself. It’s better when someone else says that about you, but over there, they really do see Henderson as the ideal professional.”_
First-team club career stats
Club
Apps
Goals
Assists\*
**Sunderland**
2008–2011
79
5
8
**Coventry City**
2009 · loan
13
1
0
**Liverpool**
2011–2023
492
33
58
**Al-Ettifaq**
2023–2024
19
0
5
**Ajax**
2024–2025
57
1
9
**Brentford**
2025–2026
34
1
3
**Chelsea**
2026–present
2
2
1
Club career total
696
43
84\*
All competitive first-team club matches, including domestic cups, continental competitions, super cups and FIFA Club World Cup. Excludes youth/reserve football, internationals and friendlies. \*Liverpool assists use the club’s official total of 58. Other clubs use Opta Analyst; assist definitions can vary between sources. Sources: Liverpool FC and Opta Analyst.
Checked: 13 October 2026.