Sunderland look as though they could be gearing up for a busy January, after what was a busy summer transfer window.
January is still two-and-a-half months away. But already we’re seeing rumours starting to circulate around the EFL, with regards to potential signings.
Clubs are starting to identify targets and expect Kristjaan Speakman at Sunderland to be the same.
Speakman worked hard to bring nine new players to the Stadium of Light during the summer, with four of those nine arriving on deadline day.
Regis Le Bris is working wonders with this new-look first-team squad. And it’s been claimed that Le Bris has told the Sunderland chiefs that he wants to be backed in January.
Recently, one player has been quite strongly linked with a move to Sunderland, or rather a return; Jordan Henderson.
It’s said that Sunderland are considering a January loan swoop for Henderson at Ajax, with Dutch football expert Michael Statham recently suggesting to Sunderland AFC News that a move next summer would be more likely.
Jordan Henderson tax issues cleared up amid Sunderland links
There’s been a lot of speculation in the media and on social media about Henderson’s tax issues.
It was widely reported that Henderson belatedly received payment from his time with Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia because he opted to defer his wages, for tax purposes.
Henderson now earns £74,000-a-week at Ajax and so returning to Sunderland would require a huge pay cut, and that’s before we even consider his current tax issues.
But speaking to Sunderland AFC News, football finance expert Adam Williams suggested that Henderson’s tax issues wouldn’t prevent a January return to the UK.
He said: “As far as I understand it, the tax issue would not be a barrier to Henderson coming back to the UK.
“Some have suggested that Henderson moved to the Netherlands rather than back to the UK because he would have been liable to pay income tax on the entirety of his Saudi salary if he returned to the UK within the same tax year.
“That is because he would not have spent enough time outside the country to qualify for what is known as split-year treatment, which allows individuals to avoid UK tax on foreign income earned while living abroad.
“But because he left Saudi in the 2023-24 tax year to join Ajax and we have since moved into the 2024-25 tax year, which runs April to April, that is a non-issue.
“Theoretically, he might need to pay tax on his far more modest Ajax salary in the UK if he was to return to the UK January.
“But then again he would almost certainly qualify for split-year treatment, so again I don’t think that would represent a hurdle.”
Jordan Henderson’s stats for Sunderland
Henderson famously graduated through the Sunderland academy, making his Premier League debut in 2008 and spending three years with the club.
Before his move to Liverpool in 2011, Henderson racked up 79 total appearances for the Black Cats, scoring five goals and assisting 11 more.
He went on to make a staggering 492 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 33 and assisting 59, also winning the Premier League and Champions League.