Jordan Henderson could become the next big name to leave for Saudi Arabia. The 33-year-old English midfielder is in the interest of coach Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq.
Gerrard hopes to bring Liverpool icon to Al Ettifaq
Gerrard and Henderson were teammates at Liverpool and the coach now hopes to entice the Englishman for a move to the Middle East. Henderson would seriously consider a switch. The 77-time international, who has been under contract with The Reds for twelve seasons, can earn four times as much in Saudi Arabia, writes The Athletic.
Henderson still has an ongoing contract with Liverpool until the summer of 2025. Last season, the Englishman made 43 appearances for Liverpool. Trainer Jürgen Klopp let the defensive power start 23 times in the base.
Before joining Liverpool, Henderson played for Sunderland in his hometown of the same name. The Englishman also wore the Coventry City shirt around his shoulders on a rental basis.
Big Liverpool purchases are already scoring points at Klopp
Jürgen Klopp is looking forward to the new season with great confidence. This is not least due to the first impression that acquisitions Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have given.
With Szoboszlai and Mac Allister, more offensive impulses should come from that line. The 22-year-old Hungarian and the 24-year-old Argentinian have come over for a total of 112 million euros from RB Leipzig and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.
The two have now completed their first training days at Liverpool. “Two very good players,” Klopp told the club channel. “The reactions from the outside world were positive and there was also a lot of enthusiasm from the group of players. The players follow football, so they were immediately very positive. That is beautiful.”
With the arrival of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, Klopp will have to reassemble the midfield puzzle. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are linked to transfers to Saudi Arabia. Thiago Alcántara will play an important role if fit. And then there are the top talents Curtis Jones (22), Harvey Elliott (20) and Stefan Bajcetic (18). It is clear that Mac Allister and Szoboszlai can count on a lot of playing time.
“They are now connected and I can say that it didn’t take long for them to impress on the pitch. So that’s positive,” said an enthusiastic Klopp, who feels new energy at Liverpool after a disappointing season. Last season, the title contender finished disappointingly fifth in the Premier League, the lowest final ranking since 2016. ‘We all know we want to show a reaction. That doesn’t start on the first matchday, it starts on the first training day. With that mindset, the guys have returned. Everyone was eager,” he concluded.
