Henderson will make a decision about moving to Saudi Arabia in the next 48 hours

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is reportedly weighing up an offer from Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq, who recently appointed his former teammate Steven Gerrard as their new manager. According to Mail Sport, Henderson has until the end of the week to make a decision on whether to accept the two-year contract with the option of an additional year, which would come with a 50% pay rise on his Liverpool salary.

Initially, it was thought that Henderson would be reluctant to leave Liverpool at this stage of his career, particularly with the Euro ’24 finals coming up at the end of the season, and because of his family’s reservations about relocating to the Middle East. However, it appears that the Liverpool captain has had second thoughts, and is now giving serious consideration to the offer from Al-Ettifaq.

If Henderson were to accept the offer, it would be a major coup for Al-Ettifaq, who have mainly signed fringe players and free agents from Chelsea, such as N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Edouard Mendy. The Saudi club is also said to be interested in signing Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, although they are only likely to offer the 34-year-old striker a two-year deal.

It remains unclear at this stage whether Gerrard has played a part in trying to convince Henderson to move to Saudi, but the former Liverpool captain spoke positively about his new club and the country in his first interview as Al-Ettifaq boss. Gerrard emphasized the importance of being excited and motivated by the challenge, and of feeling secure that the contract is right. He also expressed his ambition to make the Saudi Pro League one of the best leagues in the world, with the backing of the government, ministers, clubs, supporters, and players.