Henderson stunned fans when he switched Liverpool for Al-Ettifaq earlier in the summer. The 33-year-old reunited with Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard, who just weeks prior had been announced as the Saudi outfit’s new head coach.
He was one of several high-profile players who made a similar move this summer. The Saudi transfer window remains open until Thursday – and Al-Ittihad are reportedly going all-out for Salah.
Henderson admits that while he has not spoken with the forward about his transfer situation, the pair have exchanged messages about life in the Middle East. Salah may take that on board when making a decision on his future.
“I haven’t spoken to him about the [transfer] situation,” Henderson told The Athletic. “Obviously I spoke to him briefly over the past week or two in terms of he was asking if I was ok, everything was all right, how I’m settling in, the normal sort of stuff. I’ve sort of left him with this.
“He’ll have everybody ringing him and texting him and things like that. So I’ve sort of left him to… I don’t really know exactly what’s going on. I just see what’s being said in the media in terms of the bids going in and things like that.
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens because he’s an amazing player, an amazing guy and whatever happens, he’ll have a big impact — whether that’s at Liverpool or in the Saudi League, whatever it may be… whether that’s now, in the future or whenever it may be. He’s a fantastic addition to any team.”
Before leaving Liverpool, Henderson attempted to persuade the Reds to sign Jude Bellingham. The Premier League side withdrew their interest after realising a deal for the then-Borussia Dortmund starlet would prove too expensive.
Bellingham has since joined Real Madrid, scoring five times in his first four outings from midfield. Henderson has struck up an excellent relationship with the 20-year-old while on England duty.
Henderson continued: “Maybe not to the owners but you can probably think of certain players that I might have tried for in the past, especially recently! Which looking back now, he’s on fire so (laughing) I might have thought we should have just paid the money!
“But in the end they have a structure, they have a plan and if it doesn’t fall within that then they’re not going to change for it. Because it has a knock-on effect. It’s great to sign these amazing players with loads of wages and it’s amazing for everyone. But in the end you’ll then have different players coming in wanting different money, you’ve got players within saying, ‘Well, I want…’. It causes loads of different issues within.
“They always have a plan, always have a strategy and they know what they’re doing. The most important thing is they care about the club and that’s the biggest thing I would say about them.”
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