Jordan Henderson saga may raise Ross Stewart questions at Sunderland: View | OneFootball

Jordan Henderson's Sunderland return would raise eyebrows for one former player

Jordan Henderson’s return to Sunderland would be a compelling story that supporters would love to get behind.

However, one person that might be miffed by his arrival could be former striker Ross Stewart.

According to Football Insider, Henderson is open to a move to the Stadium of Light from Ajax, with the Dutch giants willing to find an agreement that would allow his return to his former club.

The 34-year-old has struggled for consistent game time with the Eredivisie side since joining in January of this calendar year, featuring 14 times in total in that time (all stats from Fbref).

Henderson broke into senior first team football at Sunderland, becoming a key part of the squad before moving to Liverpool in a big money deal in 2011.

Ross Stewart’s Sunderland departure

Stewart was a key figure for Sunderland prior to his departure for Southampton last year.

The forward scored 24 goals to power the Black Cats to promotion from League One to the Championship in 2022, bagging a further 10 from 13 Championship appearances in the following campaign.

However, his contract ran into its final 12 months and an agreement couldn’t be found to extend it further, leading to his sale to the Saints.

While injuries had hampered his final year at the club, his departure was still a big blow to the squad, and they have struggled to replace his consistent goal-scoring since.

It was previously reported by the Sunderland Echo that a difference in valuation of his wages was a big stumbling block in negotiations over a new deal, even with Stewart keen to remain at the Stadium of Light.

The Championship outfit wanted to keep to a strict wage structure, particularly with the focus of their squad being on signing and developing younger players to be sold on for big profit.

This is a model built on stability, and the fact they were willing to lose Stewart in order to remain within their budget highlighted how far the club had come organisationally from their period of freefall from 2016 to 2018 when they suffered back-to-back relegations.

Jordan Henderson’s Ajax wages

According to estimated figures from Capology, Henderson is earning €90,000 (£75,000) per week with his Ajax contract.

Meanwhile, the highest earning permanent player at Sunderland is Daniel Ballard, who received £25,000-a-week from the Wearside outfit.

Bringing in Henderson, even at a reduction of his current wages, would still make him easily the highest paid player in the squad.

While the club may value the ex-England international highly enough to justify this move, this does still raise questions over why similar leeway wasn’t shown to Stewart.

Henderson is a legend of the game, but his actual impact on the pitch for the team will be difficult to match the Scot’s given his consistency in front of goal during his time at the club.

The 34-year-old is a shadow of his former self, and his greatest impact could be what he brings to the club off the pitch, particularly the leadership quality he will add to the dressing room.