Fabrizio Romano has taken to Twitter on Tuesday morning with an update on Jordan Henderson’s proposed move from Liverpool to Al-Ettifaq.
Steven Gerrard’s side remain hopeful of luring the 33-year-old to Saudi Arabia, although they’ve yet to indicate that they’d be willing to match the Reds’ reported asking price of £20m for the club captain.
The player is believed to be open to linking up with his former Anfield teammate (The Telegraph), so it could just be a matter of the two sides agreeing a fee to pave the way for a deal to go through.
Romano tweeted this morning: “Al Ettifaq and Liverpool are still discussing about fee for Jordan Henderson deal. Negotiations ongoing. No chance for free transfer as initially requested by Al Ettifaq. But talks are now ongoing in order to find compromise between all the parties.”
Neil Jones exclusively told Empire of the Kop’s Substack on Monday that there could be ‘developments’ this week regarding Henderson’s future, so we may soon witness significant movement on that front.
He also mentioned that Liverpool ‘laughed off’ the notion of Al-Ettifaq signing the 33-year-old for less than £10m, or even on a free transfer, with the Reds holding out for £20m or more considering that Kalidou Koulibaly (32) left Chelsea for Saudi Arabia for a similar amount.
The Merseysiders are quite right not to be held to ransom over their captain, particularly given his importance within the dressing room, and they shouldn’t sanction any deal with Gerrard’s side unless they’re completely satisfied with it from their end.
Even if Liverpool reap their desired £20m+ from selling Henderson, his influence and leadership will be very difficult to replace ahead of the new season, and that’s something the club must consider in all of this.
For now, we can only wait and see what comes of the negotiations between the two sides and whether they will agree upon a mutually acceptable fee for the Reds skipper.
You can see Romano’s tweet below, via @FabrizioRomano on Twitter:
Al Ettifaq and Liverpool are still discussing about fee for Jordan Henderson deal. Negotiations ongoing. 🔴🇸🇦
No chance for free transfer as initially requested by Al Ettifaq. But talks are now ongoing in order to find compromise between all the parties. pic.twitter.com/30nPAzSr6S
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 18, 2023
#Ep80 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Fabinho & Jordan Henderson… going, going, gone?🎙️