Sunderland captain Neil backs Henderson return to aid promotion push

The former Liverpool captain is not having the best of time at Dutch giants Ajax.

He is said to be unsettled at Ajax, per The Mirror, and may be pushing for a move back to England.

Neil, who once asked for advice from Henderson on international duty, would love to work with the 34-year-old.

He stated: “He is a top quality player. He can come back here if he wants! I’d be a bit nervous telling him what to do!

“The changing room is buzzing, the squad morale is through the roof. We are on a momentum wave at the minute.

“It has been fearless and everyone trying to build their careers for a few years now. Jack Clarke, Amad Diallo, we are a young team and fearless but also mature for a young team. We are fearless because we will try things in attack, but mature in terms of when the game needs it we can change.

“We are delighted with the start. We go into games thinking we will take three points and that’s a good mindset to be in.

“But…devil's advocate, that momentum can crash. Last year we were sixth beating Preston New Year’s Day, and finished 17th. So the wave on the up is unbelievable, but when it goes down it is hard to turn around.

“Even turning it around in pre-season has not been easy. We worked on fundamentals, a new playing identity, everyone knows their jobs on the pitch and has bought into it brilliantly. There is no ‘I’s in the team.”