Saudi Arabia Interest Changes Liverpool Transfer Landscape2 min read

Fabinho and Henderson have both been the subject of interest from Saudi Arabian clubs

Liverpool face the prospect of losing midfield players with a combined 1,318 Reds appearances for them in the summer transfer window.

But unexpectedly, Jordan Henderson, who has made 491 outings for the club, and Fabinho, with 219 appearances, also look like they will be on their way.

It means a midfield renovation of manager Jurgen Klopp’s side has turned into more of a full-scale rebuild.

So what has happened?

Brazil international Fabinho was the subject of a £40m bid from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad last Friday and, as a result, did not travel with the rest of the Reds squad to a training camp in Germany the following day.

Henderson did make the trip amid links with Al-Ettifaq but, after he was left out of Liverpool’s first pre-season game against Karlsruher on Wednesday, it emerged that the club had agreed a deal in principle worth £12m plus add-ons to sell him to the Saudi side.

Along with most of the Liverpool team, both struggled last season before showing a welcome return to some form as the team won seven of their final nine games.

Unlike Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita, they were not going to be ushered to the Anfield exit door.

The initial plan, under which attacking midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai arrived, was for the Reds to work on supplementing those signings with a long-term successor to 29-year-old Fabinho.