Sunderland AFC: Jordan Henderson issues key message on immediate future | OneFootball

Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson has played down a potential return to Sunderland next month

Jordan Henderson has been tipped to make a potential January return to Sunderland, although the Ajax midfielder has broken his silence on the speculation for the first time and any such move doesn't appear to be on the cards.

Sunderland have been in outstanding form in the Championship this season under Regis Le Bris, who took over during the summer and has transformed the side into promotion candidates.

The previous campaign was a difficult one for Sunderland, although much has since been forgotten as the club now set their sights on a potential Premier League return. After overturning a two-goal deficit to come away from Swansea City with an emphatic 3-2 victory on Saturday afternoon, the Black Cats are fourth in the league standings but find themselves just two points off second-placed Leeds United.

The January window already feels like it's going to shape up to be a crucial one for Sunderland in their bid to earn promotion, and they've been linked with a mid-season boost in the form of a potential return for Henderson, who started his career on Wearside and has enjoyed storied success at the highest echelons of the game.

However, it now appears as though a renaissance in January is no longer a prospect, meaning Sunderland may have to plot a fresh alternative move if Le Bris is still intent on bolstering his midfield options.

Ajax's Jordan Henderson rules out January, Sunderland AFC transfer switch

Various reports had previously claimed that Henderson, who was out of favour under Ajax boss Francesco Farioli at the start of the season, was open to a sensational return to his boyhood club, and that Sunderland themselves were running the rule over the move.

However, Henderson has now seemingly ruled out a homecoming at the Stadium of Light, reiterating his desire to stay put with Ajax and help the Dutch giants to improve. The 34-year-old also explained how he has no idea where talk of a return to Sunderland has come from.

Henderson is quoted as saying, via the Sunderland Echo: "It’s my club, ever since I was a boy of six or seven years old. Then I was in the stands. But I just hope I stay here [at Ajax]. I really like it here.

"I want to help the club to grow further. We are also taking those steps. But I also read it. I don’t even know where all this comes from, because there has been no contact."

Jordan Henderson transfer revelation may be a blow to Sunderland AFC, Regis Le Bris

While Henderson's age meant he was always something of a contradiction to Sunderland's sustainable youth-centred recruitment philosophy headed up by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman, and there would have been concerns about a potential decrease in game time for young midfield prospects such as Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham, Henderson's reveal may provide a blow to the club.

Those factors are entirely valid, of course. But, to play devil's advocate, Henderson's esteemed experience and know-how, both on and off-the-pitch, could have been of such benefit to Sunderland heading into a mentally-toiling back end of the campaign, where the stakes and the pressure is sure to be high.

Sunderland would've been best-served by balance had he joined, and sentimentalism aside, it would've been counterproductive if he arrived and promptly displaced Rigg or Bellingham. However, the former Liverpool captain knows what it takes to thrive at the very highest level and could've been extremely handy to have alongside young counterparts tipped to replicate his own successes in the future.