Jordan Henderson is fully focused on helping Liverpool spark a revival next season amid speculation over his future.
Henderson has been at Liverpool for 12 years and has been captain of Jurgen Klopp’s side for eight years. However, Steven Gerrard’s appointment as manager of Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq on Monday sparked speculation that Henderson could be tempted to leave the Reds.
The Saudi Pro League is embarking on a major recruitment drive, with Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino among those to sign big-money deals this summer. Al-Ettifaq have yet to make any marquee signings, but have been linked with Alvaro Morata, Philippe Coutinho, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – and Henderson.
Reports suggested that, at 33 years old, Henderson might be tempted to join his former team-mate Gerrard to pass out the twilight of his career in the Middle East. Liverpool are yet to receive an official approach from their former captain or Al-Ettifaq and are not expecting Henderson to leave this summer.
That tallies with the midfielder’s recent activity on social media. On Tuesday Henderson posted some pictures of him training on his Instagram account with the caption: “Don’t dream of winning. Train for it!”
Henderson is working hard by himself before returning to training with Liverpool on July 8. He was granted some time off following his involvement in England’s recent Euro 2024 qualifiers with Malta and North Macedonia. He will be part of the Liverpool squad which travels to Germany to face Bundesliga 2 duo Karlsruher SC and Greuther Furth on July 19 and 24 respectively.
Henderson is set to be a part of a new-look Liverpool midfield next season. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have already been signed following the departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, James Milner and Arthur Melo.
Despite the four departures, Klopp should have plenty of options in the middle of the park next season. Henderson is joined by Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, while Trent Alexander-Arnold has increasingly shown his ability to operate in central areas.
Like Henderson, Thiago has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. The 32-year-old has already turned down one offer from a Pro League side and wants to stay and see out the final year of his contract. Liverpool would then allow him to leave on a free transfer next summer.
Despite Henderson and Thiago’s stances, Firmino’s move to Al-Ahli underlines the financial weight of Saudi Arabia as a destination for players this summer. Saudi's sovereign wealth fund Public Invest Fund has taken control of four of the league’s biggest clubs – Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli – and are throwing money at ageing stars.
Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy have all left Chelsea for Saudi Arabia, with Benzema, Ruben Neves and Marcelo Brozovic among the other players to make the move, joining Cristiano Ronaldo in the country.
