Jordan Henderson blocked from taking 'dream' shirt number at Ajax as former Liverpool star faces dilemma

Jordan Henderson has been denied his dream shirt number upon completing his move to Ajax.

The England international has joined Dutch giants Ajax, who first expressed an interest in the player when it emerged he was looking to leave Saudi Arabia after just six months.

The 33-year-old made a £12 million switch to Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq in the summer but played just 19 times.

And after reports claimed he was "desperate" to end his Saudi adventure and return to Europe, Ajax have now agreed a deal with the player.

He signed on a free contract and could make his debut against RKC Waalwijk on Sunday.

However, the former Sunderland academy player Henderson has faced a tricky situation in regards to selecting a shirt number.

Image: Getty

Henderson wore the No.14 for the entirety of his Liverpool stint and surprisingly took the No.10 shirt when he moved to Al Ettifaq.

However the No.14 jersey at Ajax is not available. That's because it was retired in 2007 as a tribute to the late Johan Cruyff, Ajax's legendary former player and manager.

Cruyff also wore the number for both Barcelona and the Netherlands and initially started sporting it as a superstition.

Henderson's other preferred numbers, No.10 and No.8, are both currently occupied by Kenneth Taylor and Chuba Akpom.

Instead, Henderson will wear the No.6 shirt at Ajax.

Fearing he would not be selected by Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024, Henderson is said to be taking a mammoth 75 per cent pay cut.

Image: Getty

He is still likely to earn around £175,000-per-week but there are reports stating that if Ajax qualify for Europe, Henderson has to pay an additional bonus to his former employers.

Ajax are currently fifth in the league, 23 points behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven.