Liverpool's transfer plans to take a dramatic twist with Saudi clubs circuling

After the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai earlier in the window, it looked like Liverpool would have a reasonably quiet end to the summer.

However, with increasing speculation surrounding multiple players in Jurgen Klopp’s squad with a move to Saudi Arabia, things could get intense.

In recent days, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara have all been linked with big money moves to the Middle East.

With the likes of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already leaving the club this summer, many supporters didn’t expect to see any more midfielders departing this summer.

However, the big money being linked with the moves for Klopp’s midfielders will certainly make the club seriously consider their options.

Jordan Henderson:

Al Ettifaq were originally hoping to bring in the Liverpool captain on a free transfer despite the 33-year-old still having two years left on his current deal at Anfield, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Romano also claims that the Reds are holding out for a fee of £10million to let the skipper go in this window.

Personally, I wouldn’t be wanting to let Henderson go even for that fee with his experience and leadership alone being worth more than that to us and our extremely young squad.

However, reports suggesting that the 33-year-old wants the move and will be offered around £700,000 per week in wages have left the club in an awkward situation.

Fabinho:

The initial value being linked with the Brazilian’s potential exit is reportedly around £40million, which would make up the cost of what Liverpool paid Monaco for the defensive midfielder back in 2018.

Liverpool would likely look to negotiate for a fee of around £50million if they were to let the midfielder go this summer, making sure to get the maximum amount of money possible.

The 29-year-old comes into this summer transfer window on the back of a really poor 2022/23 season, but prior to last year was one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

His current contract at Liverpool doesn’t expire until June 2026, which massively upholds his value in this specific window.

I think if Fabinho wanted the move and Liverpool were offered £50million for the midfielder, then the club would find it hard to reject such an offer.

The funds raised by that move could be put towards signing a replacement like Romeo Lavia, Kephren Thuram, Ryan Gravenberch or Sofyan Amrabat.

Thiago Alcantara:

Although there hasn’t been any concrete talks regarding a possible departure for Thiago, there is certainly multiple Saudi clubs interested in the Spanish midfielder.

The Spaniard only has one year left on his contract at Liverpool which expires in June 2024, and reports suggest that the midfielder wants to see out his current deal before securing a move abroad.

If he was to leave this summer, Liverpool would likely hold out for a fee of around £20million to recoup as much of the money they paid to Bayern Munich for the 32-year-old back in 2020.

What this would mean for Liverpool’s transfer plans?

Even if just Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were to leave this summer, it would leave Klopp with just one midfielder out of ten aged over 24-years-old.

Liverpool would need to sign another two midfielders just to maintain a decent leavel of squad depth in the midfield positions, with Romeo Lavia and Kephren Thuram the two most likely options.

However, that would obviously leave Liverpool with a severe lack of experience and maturity in the middle of the park with their options being:

• Stefan Bajcetic (18-years-old)
• Bobby Clark (18-years-old)
• Romeo Lavia (19-years-old)
• Harvey Elliott (20-years-old)
• Tyler Morton (20-years-old)
• Curtis Jones (22-yeard-old)
• Kephren Thuram (22-years-old)
• Dominik Szobozslai (22-years-old)
• Alexis Mac Allister (24-years-old)
• Thiago Alcantara (32-years-old)

Personally, I would rather keep all three midfielders for at least one more year unless huge bids were to be made on any of them.

I’m not ready to write off Fabinho completely just yet and I think he could prove extremely hard to replace in the short-term future.

The futures of Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara are largely down to what they want, with the club unlikely to stand in their way if a suitable bid was to come in for the ageing players.