Jordan Henderson is expected to stay at Ajax until the end of the season, unless Monaco come back with an extraordinary bid for the midfielder. Henderson appeared on the verge of a move to Monaco before Ajax blocked the transfer, with manager Francesco Farioli seeing his skipper as a crucial in the Dutch giants' push for Champions League football. Henderson responded to this by issuing the club an ultimatum, with De Telegraaf claiming he demanded to be allowed to leave for free or he would not play for Ajax again, despite being under contract until 2026.

Rather than give in to his wishes, the hierarchy dug their feet in as technical director Alex Kroes and chief executive Meno Geelen informed him personally that Ajax would not sanction any move away this month. Farioli then stripped Henderson of the captaincy, just 30 minutes prior to kick-off of Thursday's Europa League clash with Galatasaray. Henderson nevertheless went on to play 77 minutes in Amsterdam and after the final whistle, he was reported to have regretted his actions, speaking to Kroes inside the dressing room and vowing to finish the campaign with Ajax.

Jordan Henderson will not leave Ajax this month, barring a seismic second bid from Monaco. Henderson is said to have told Ajax to let him go or he would not play for the club again. Henderson had reportedly agreed a deal with Monaco, who are currently third in Ligue 1. However, ill-feeling towards the former Liverpool skipper has skyrocketed in the Netherlands regardless of this dramatic U-turn in transfer stance.

This was demonstrated by Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder, who urged Henderson to 'get in front of the camera' to address the rampant speculation. 'Be a man and stand up,' he said. 'Right now you get all this speculation and you create unrest. It could have been much calmer if he had just worn the armband. 'I find it very strange. I don't think UEFA had even figured it out yet. 'So there must have been some kind of switch at the last moment. That does raise questions. I don't know if we'll hear an explanation from Francesco Farioli, because he probably won't give an answer. But I find it strange.

'I think if you choose a different captain, you shouldn't field Henderson either.'. Monaco are now highly unlikely to come back in with a second offer for Henderson, knowing that it would take something seismic for Ajax to change their position on the midfielder. Henderson enjoyed a trophy-laden 12-year spell at Liverpool, winning both the Premier League and the Champions League as club captain, before completing a move to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023.

Jordan Henderson appeared to have his captaincy removed by Ajax against Galatasaray. Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder (right) believes the midfielder must publicly address the row. His Saudi switch proved ill-fated and after just six months under the management of former teammate Steven Gerrard, he sealed a return to Europe with Ajax. He has made 44 appearances for the club to date, scoring no goals, and was handed the captain's armband just a matter of weeks after joining.