Henderson’s Liverpool future has been the talk of the town over the last few days, as he ponders a move to Saudi Arabia. With the 33-year-old reported to have accepted Al Ettifaq’s contract proposal, all that remains is for a fee to be agreed.
But as journalist Fabrizio Romano reported for CaughtOffside this morning, that is proving difficult. Liverpool rightly want to be compensated for the loss of their captain. This is proving to be a sticking point.
“Negotiations are taking place between Liverpool and Al Ettifaq over the transfer of Jordan Henderson,” Romano says.
“The player has already said yes to the move but it’s crucial that Liverpool receive an important fee for their captain. Ettifaq hoped to sign Henderson for free and this is why Liverpool are not happy at all.”
Liverpool upset by Henderson saga
Liverpool are quite right to be put out by the manner of these abrupt negotiations this week. It’s bordering on absurd that Al Ettifaq thought the Reds would simply let Henderson walk out of the door for nothing.
The England international is still contracted at Anfield for the next two seasons. Unless the Saudis meet what Liverpool are asking for, he’ll be going nowhere.
Quite what the next step is if Henderson does end up staying will be very interesting indeed.
Jordan Henderson
Having made it clear that he’s willing to accept the Saudi offer, his position as club captain is potentially permanently undermined. He will certainly have to face the music from disgruntled supporters.
It doesn’t really do anyone any good to keep an unhappy player around though, so Liverpool will hope for a solution to be found.
Unless Al Ettifaq are willing to stump up a fee to match the wages on offer however, there won’t be one. There had been claims that Steven Gerrard’s side were willing to pay whatever it took to get Henderson out of Anfield. That now looks like being very wide of the mark.
It isn’t a huge fee that Liverpool are looking for. Gauging reports, it seems to be between £10-20m. For a club willing to pay out such enormous wages, this shouldn’t be a problem. Evidently though, things aren’t going to be that simple.
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