Brentford to strengthen Liverpool link by signing Jordan Henderson

Jordan Henderson is returning to the Premier League after he left Liverpool in 2023 - Getty Images/Raymond Smit

The 35-year-old England international is finalising his return to the Premier League as a free agent, two years after leaving Liverpool for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq.

Brentford’s move for Henderson comes after the departure of club captain Christian Norgaard, who has joined Arsenal in a deal worth an initial £10 million.

Henderson and Ajax had earlier this week agreed to end his contract a year early. The midfielder had moved to the Dutch club in January 2024 after less than six months in Saudi Arabia.

Henderson remains in the England fold and is in contention for a place in next year’s World Cup squad. Last month he started in midfield as Thomas Tuchel’s side defeated Andorra.

How Brentford and Liverpool became masters of ‘Moneyball’

On the surface, Brentford and Liverpool do not appear to have much in common as clubs, but it is increasingly clear that a strong connection exists between the two Premier League sides.

Within the last year, Brentford have signed three players directly from Liverpool: defender Sepp van den Berg (an initial £20 million), midfielder Fabio Carvalho (an initial £22.5 million) and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher (an initial £12.5 million).

Henderson’s arrival at the Gtech Community Stadium does not count as another direct transfer from Liverpool, given his time at Al-Ettifaq and Ajax, but it certainly further strengthens these links. Henderson spent 12 years at Liverpool and captained the team to glory in the Champions League and Premier League.

Caoimhin Kelleher was tracked by Brentford for a long time - Reuters/Phil Noble

One fundamental reason for this connection between the clubs is that many of the key decision-makers at Brentford and Liverpool see the sport in the same way. Both clubs excel at data analysis (the word “Money ball” might spring to mind) and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that their respective models overlap with each other.

Ian Graham, Liverpool’s former director of research, made this clear in his book, How to Win the Premier League: The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution. Graham details a conversation with Matthew Benham, the Brentford owner, and reveals how much Liverpool’s data team admired Brentford’s work in the transfer market.

Graham is known to have established contacts with Brentford in 2015, when he began speaking to Robert Rowan, the club’s late technical director. After a deal involving Sergi Canos, the two clubs invited each other to see how they operate and to effectively swap notes.

During Graham’s time at Liverpool, Brentford repeatedly signed players who scored highly on Liverpool’s data modelling. Centre-backs Pontus Jansson and Zanka, for example. Frank Onyeka was regarded by Liverpool as the best young midfielder in Denmark. Yoane Wissa, who has excelled for Brentford in recent seasons, also featured on Liverpool’s radar.

Of course, this is not to say that the clubs have been in direct competition for such players. Liverpool, as Premier League champions and annual Champions League contenders, shop in different markets to Brentford.

But they are evidently working with similar data points, using similar models, and it therefore makes perfect sense that players who are not quite good enough to be first-team regulars at Liverpool – players such as Van den Berg, Carvalho and Kelleher – are regarded by Brentford as excellent acquisitions. Henderson, in a less direct way, represents a continuation of that theme.

Oliver Brown

Henderson's Saudi sojourn killed his integrity, credibility and England career

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