The former captain of Liverpool, Jordan Henderson has had his services touted elsewhere as he seeks a return, but Jürgen Klopp has summed up the new reality.
Jordan Henderson could be three matches away from another iconic Liverpool trophy lift if he had taken different decisions. For the second time in three seasons, he’d be starting to dream about a quadruple too.
Instead, he’s over in Saudi Arabia, desperately seeking an escape route if the Daily Mail is anything to go by. His old captain and current manager Steven Gerrard is just barely clinging on to his job, and the one saving grace is that barely any fans are showing up to watch this shambles.
A good number of Liverpool’s new midfield recruits did not start against Arsenal in the FA Cup, with two of them unavailable. By the end of the match, Bobby Clark had been introduced.
While Henderson knew he would not be a guaranteed starter if he stayed at Anfield, there would certainly have been minutes up for grabs.
But Liverpool have not looked back, and won’t start doing so now. After the win, Jürgen Klopp was asked about Henderson’s plight and the possibility of a return.
The manager’s countenance probably revealed more of the story than his answer, but he confirmed that this was not a topic on the agenda when the pair spoke .
So where can Henderson head to next? He appears to retain the trust of England manager Gareth Southgate — no doubt baffling to Curtis Jones, who has so rejuvenated a Liverpool midfield that was stagnating. But at club level, it’s hard to imagine many sides wanting to take the gamble, not least given his present wages.
According to talkSPORT, Henderson has been offered to Bayern Munich and Juventus. He’s also been touted to Bayer Leverkusen, and ‘virtually every club in the Premier League’.
But that offer has not come from Al-Ettifaq, which do not want to sanction a sale, and see his wages as a likely stumbling block to a loan. Given these difficulties, an interested party would have to push hard for a deal.
