Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are reportedly among the Premier League clubs interested in offering an escape route to former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson from Al-Ettifaq.
According to Football Insider, Jordan Henderson is unhappy at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq and is targeting a return to the Premier League in the current January transfer window.
Henderson was sold by Liverpool to Al-Ettifaq in the summer in a move that allowed him to reunite with former teammate Steven Gerrard in Saudi Arabia.
However, just six months after demeaning his hard-won reputation and alienating ethical alliances for a more meagre financial benefit that came with a move to the Middle East, the former Liverpool captain wants a Premier League return, with a place at Euro 2024 under threat with England.
It’s fair to say his move to Al-Ettifaq has been a total disaster. Still yet to open his goalscoring account for Al-Ettifaq, Henderson has notched just five assists in 19 outings, and his issues have been compounded by his side’s poor run of form, which has yielded just six wins from 19 league fixtures, putting Gerrard’s head coach position under the scanner as well.
Chelsea and Tottenham are among the clubs considering a move for the 33-year-old, given that his price tag and salary demands are reasonable.
The Blues, for one, spent a fortune on Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, and Lesley Ugochukwu to play in the midfield, but injuries and poor form could see reinforcements brought in.
Henderson’s arrival at Stamford Bridge could pave the way for Conor Gallagher’s exit amid strong links to Spurs. It appears the West Londoners want to swap the all-action energy of their current stand-in skipper for the ageing legs of Henderson, which only makes sense on the financial books.
The former Liverpool captain would add valuable experience to the young Chelsea squad, though, having played a whopping 492 times for Liverpool and captained the Reds’ to a Premier League and Champions League victory during his 12-year stint at Anfield.
As for Spurs, Rodrigo Bentancur’s early return from injury and the departure of Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma to the Africa Cup of Nations have reshaped Tottenham’s midfield dynamics altogether. Oliver Skipp is set to stay and fight for his spot, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s future is up in the air.
Indeed, they are also looking for midfield reinforcements and have made Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher their priority target, with Henderson seemingly a fallback option in case they fail to get a deal done for Gallagher.
