Fabrizio Romano has shared the message that Jurgen Klopp conveyed to Jordan Henderson regarding a potential move to Saudi Arabia for the Liverpool captain.
The midfielder is believed to have accepted a proposal to reunite with former Reds teammate Steven Gerrard, who’s now manager of Al-Ettifaq, with a verbal agreement in place.
The next step is for the two clubs to try and arrange a fee which’d satisfy them both, with a growing possibility that the 33-year-old could soon end his 12-year association with his current employers.
Romano revealed in a video on his YouTube channel on Thursday night that Klopp has apparently given his blessing to Henderson’s departure because he can’t promise the player regular game-time at Anfield.
The Italian said: “My understanding is that in the conversation between Jordan Henderson and Jurgen Klopp on Thursday around lunchtime, the message from the manager was very clear – if you find the opportunity, you can go, because here the game-time is going to be limited.
“Klopp said that because Liverpool, in any case [with or without Henderson], want to sign one more midfielder…This is why Klopp was very honest with Henderson, and the decision of the player is to say yes to Al-Ettifaq.”
Klopp has generally called it right when it comes to deciding when a player can leave Liverpool, but if indeed he’s given the green light to letting Henderson leave this summer, it’d seem a very risky move from the German.
The captain mightn’t have had his best season in 2022/23, starting just 23 league games and ranking a lowly 17th in the Reds’ squad for WhoScored performance metrics, but he’s still a massive presence in the dressing room.
In a summer which has already seen the club lose a lot of midfield experience – especially from the exit of another influential figure in James Milner – the possible departure of the 33-year-old would leave a huge leadership vacuum in that area of the pitch.
Maybe the manager is confident that Liverpool will soon get another midfielder signed who can fill the Henderson void, or that someone in the current squad will step up and become that talismanic on-field rock.
Nonetheless, it’ll be very tough for fans to see our captain go if, as seems increasingly likely, he follows Gerrard to Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.
You can see Romano’s update on Henderson below (from 2:12), via Fabrizio Romano on YouTube: