Liverpool have reportedly approved the sale of midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia.
Fabinho has been kept out of Liverpool’s pre-season camp in Germany after Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia expressed interest in him.
According to a recent source, the 29-year-old Brazilian international has agreed personal terms with Al-Ittihad, who have made a £40 million proposal to Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Al-Ettifaq, managed by Reds icon Steven Gerrard, has expressed interest in Liverpool captain Henderson.
The midfielder, 33, was named to Jurgen Klopp’s team for their pre-season trip to Germany, but he is understood to have secured a verbal deal to relocate to the Middle East.
According to Football Insider, the sale of both Fabinho and Henderson is imminent, and Liverpool expects both players to leave the club after finishing their medicals this week.
While the Reds are expected to recuperate £40 million from Al-Ittihad for Fabinho, Henderson’s value is unknown, but the report claims that the England international has agreed to a remarkable £700,000-a-week wage to join Al-Ettifaq on a two-year contract.
Liverpool are not expected to let Henderson depart cheaply, and could demand up to £20 million for the midfielder, who has two years left on his deal at Anfield.
Henderson joined Liverpool from Sunderland in 2011 and played alongside Gerrard for three and a half seasons before the latter retired from Anfield to join the Los Angeles Galaxy in January 2015.
Following Gerrard’s departure, the midfielder was named Liverpool captain and has produced 33 goals and 61 assists in 492 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, winning eight trophies including the Premier League and Champions League.
Fabinho, meanwhile, joined Liverpool from Monaco in the summer of 2018 for £43.7 million and has since established himself as a solid lynchpin in Klopp’s midfield, despite letting his standards slide slightly last season.
The Brazilian appears to be ending his five-year stint with the Reds, where he has 11 goals and 10 assists in 219 games and has won seven titles.
While Fabinho is slated to become Al-Ittihad’s fourth high-profile signing of the summer, following Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and Jota, Henderson is set to become Al-Ettifaq and Gerrard’s first.
Liverpool have already lost James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita in the midfield, while Thiago Alcantara, like Henderson and Fabinho, has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia as well as Barcelona.
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