Henderson to make decision over Saudi Arabia move in the next 48 hours

Jordan Henderson will decide in the next 48 hours whether to quit Liverpool and join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.

Mail Sport exclusively revealed last week that Henderson was a target for the Saudi Pro League club who appointed Gerrard as their new manager earlier this month.

The initial indications were that Henderson would be reluctant to leave Liverpool at this stage of his career, and was worried about his England place with the Euro ’24 finals coming up at the end of the season. It’s understood that his family also had reservations about a relocating to the Middle East.

Like Gerrard, however, Henderson has had second thoughts about moving to Saudi and is now giving serious consideration to Al-Ettifaq’s offer.

The Dammam-based club are said to have proposed a two-year contract with the option of an additional year based on performance, which is highly tempting to a player who turned 33 last month.

The offer would give Henderson a 50 per cent pay rise on his Liverpool salary.

Henderson is expected to make a final decision on Thursday or Friday with Al-Ettifaq ready to make a formal approach to Liverpool before the weekend.

The Merseysiders have already released James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer.

Signing the Liverpool captain, who still has two years left on his contract at Anfield, would be a major coup for Al-Ettifaq.

Until now, many of the Premier League stars signing up to the booming Saudi league have been fringe players and free agents from Chelsea such as N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy.

Al-Ettifaq are also interested in Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but it’s understood they are only like to offer the 34-year-old striker a two-year deal and would need Chelsea to pay some of his salary.

It’s unclear at this stage if Gerrard has played a part in trying to convince his former Liverpool teammate Henderson to move to Saudi, but the Al-Ettifaq boss spoke about his new club and the country in glowing terms when he gave his first interview at the weekend.

‘When I went over to Saudi, I got a real family feel,’ said Gerrard. ‘They made me feel extremely welcome. There are three things that I always consider: it needs to be right for my family first and foremost, we have to be excited and motivated by the challenge.

‘The football project needs to be ambitious and for the right reasons in terms of the challenge and the remit. Of course, you need to feel secure that the contract is right. That always comes at the very end.

‘It was a combination of reasons. I’m extremely excited and happy. I can’t wait to start. I can’t wait to meet the supporters and the players. But the people I have met so far who represent Al-Ettifaq have been absolutely outstanding. We share a lot of things in common.

‘I’m a coach and manager who is very ambitious. I like to work tirelessly to make sure the team is competitive. If we’re all united and together, and we all stay aligned, I’m sure we can achieve our goals together.

‘I think the league will continue to grow and evolve. With fantastic support from the government and ministers, and all the clubs throughout the Saudi Pro League and all the supporters and players, we all have an ambition to make it one of the best leagues in the world.’