Liverpool's price tag for Jordan Henderson after midfielder accepts Saudi Arabia offer
Jordan Henderson has accepted the contract offer on the table from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq.
That is according to Fabrizio Romano who has reported that the Liverpool captain now has a "verbal agreement in principle" in place with Steven Gerrard's new club, with news earlier on Thursday claiming that the proposal is worth a staggering £700k a week.
It seems that Liverpool are now willing to come to the table to agree a fee for Henderson, with Romano adding that "there's green light" after Jurgen Klopp and the midfielder spoke earlier in the day.
While some have suggested that Al-Ettifaq were initially hoping to secure Henderson for a transfer fee as low as £10m, The Times' Paul Joyce writes that the Reds will seek £20m for their skipper.
This figure is backed up by Sky's Melissa Reddy who tweeted that: "Liverpool would expect around double the £10m fee being reported for Jordan Henderson given the two years left on his contract, his status as club captain and England international."
Incidentally, £20m also roughly matches the fee Liverpool paid to take Henderson from Sunderland 12 years — and nearly 500 appearances — ago.
With pre-season already underway and Klopp keen to complete his midfield rebuild, it is expected that the deal will move quickly if the clubs can agree a fee.
However, Henderson is not the only Liverpool player being targeted by Saudi Arabia, with Al-Ittihad ready to submit a £40m bid for Fabinho.
Should both players leave, the Reds would see an unprecedented seven first-team midfielders depart this summer — with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain leaving at the expiry of their contracts, Arthur Melo's loan finishing and Fabio Carvalho joining RB Leipzig for the upcoming season.
So far, the club have brought in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, while £50m-rated Romeo Lavia has been touted as the man to replace Fabinho.