Graeme Souness has explained why one former Liverpool favourite is already seeking a way out of Saudi Arabia after just six months.
Jordan Henderson quit Anfield in the summer to join up with former Reds skipper Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League.
Gerrard’s side are without a win in their last nine games, however, and currently find themselves eighth in the table – a whopping 28 points off league leaders Al-Hilal.
The Daily Mail are reporting that our former No. 14 is ‘desperate’ to return to the English top flight while Fabrizio Romano (via X) has claimed that Ajax are interested in a move for the England international.
“He would have known about the climate in Saudi Arabia, and known he was going to a much inferior league given the Premier League is the best one out there,” Souness told talkSPORT (via Daily Star).
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“I would imagine if they were top of the league and he was being well received as a player they thought they were getting, we would not be talking about this. I think it is a combination of him having a miserable time, and because the club has underachieved.”
It was a huge surprise to see Henderson quit Liverpool in the summer – especially to head to the Middle East.
He may be earning insane wages, believed to be £700,000 per week (Daily Mail), but money isn’t everything if you’re not enjoying your football or are struggling to settle down off the pitch.
Despite initially showing his support for the LGBTQ+ community during his time at Liverpool, the former Sunderland midfielder has been criticised heavily since moving to Saudi where homosexuality is still illegal.
When returning to England to represent the Three Lions the 33-year-old has been booed by some supporters.
It will be interesting to see if he does return to his homeland this month – we’ll just have to wait and see.
#Ep98 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️