Liverpool have moved ahead of Arsenal in race for £50m star thanks to Jordan Henderson sale

Jordan Henderson has officially signed for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq, reuniting with Steven Gerrard and calling time on his 12-year tenure at Liverpool. The captain follows his former secondhand man James Milner out the door, and Fabinho also looks to be close behind them with his own exit.

The Brazilian is close to finalising a deal with Al-Ittihad, joining Henderson in moving to the Saudi Pro League, where plenty of other high profile players have also journeyed to. This leaves Jurgen Klopp with a gaping hole in his midfield and only young Stefan Bajcetic to operate as a natural No.6.

Prior to this midfield exodus, Klopp was already prioritising a restructure in midfield. Liverpool wasted no time in bringing in new creative options in the form of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai but now the focus is on recruiting in the defensive position.

Of course, unless you’ve had no access to the internet for the past few weeks, the Reds’ main target is Southampton’s Roméo Lavia. The Saints star has received a lot of attention since the club were relegated from the Premier League last season but Liverpool are ahead of the pack to sign him.

According to a recent update from The Independent, the Reds have moved ahead of rivals Arsenal for Lavia’s signature. The Gunners are cooling off their overall pursuit of new signings for now until they can sell some players first, having already splashed the cash on Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice.

Southampton have already rejected an offer of £37 million from Liverpool, as they value Lavia at £50 million. But the price may not be a problem as the Reds will have the funds from the sale of Henderson and Fabinho to help them along. Plus, the view on the market right now is they may be able to snag Lavia for £45 million if they play their cards right.