Liverpool could finalise Jordan Henderson’s exit from Anfield as early as today, according to one report.
Football Insider have claimed that the Reds will ‘press ahead’ with putting the finishing touches on a move to Al-Ettifaq for the 33-year-old, who’ll reportedly earn a weekly wage of £700,000 in Saudi Arabia.
The same outlet reported on Friday that there had been a ‘breakthrough in talks’ between the relevant parties and that the midfielder had informed his current club of his wishes to depart for the Middle East in a £10m deal.
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While this report might make it sound as if Henderson’s exit is imminent, we wouldn’t jump the gun on it for a couple of reasons.
The Telegraph reported that the skipper is expected to fly out with the Liverpool squad today for their pre-season training camp in Germany, and that the Reds won’t let him leave for anything less than £20m.
That’s twice the fee quoted by Football Insider, while he probably wouldn’t be on the plane with Jurgen Klopp and his teammates if a transfer to Saudi Arabia is set to be finalised over the next 24 hours.
LFC fans can also take solace in reports that Al-Ettifaq’s budget won’t allow them to spend any more than £14m on Henderson, which’ll surely be too low for the Merseysiders given their apparent asking price for him.
With various outlets seemingly communicating conflicting messages, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.
To us, it seems that the 33-year-old could possibly depart, but it isn’t likely to happen imminently, with a few crucial details to be worked through yet if he’s to call time on his Liverpool career this summer.
#Ep80 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Fabinho & Jordan Henderson… going, going, gone?🎙️