7 possible transfers for Jordan Henderson amid Al-Ettifaq exit rumours | OneFootball

The big news emerging from the Saudi Pro League this week is that former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson is 'desperate' to return to the Premier League after struggling to adapt to life in his new environment. Indeed, it's believed that he will now consider the possibility of heading back to Europe just six months after arriving in the Middle East.

Al-Ettifaq, who are managed by Steven Gerrard, aren't playing very well under the leadership of the former Three Lions "Golden Generation" midfielder. He would have probably expected more from Henderson, who is yet to score in his first 19 outings – it's fair to say he's not been able to deliver the goods for his former teammate and current boss so far.

The 33-year-old currently earns a whopping £700,000 per week, although MailOnline – who first broke news of the story – claim that his weekly wage is only tax-free if he stays for the first two years of his contract. With that being the case, if he does leave this winter, Henderson's pay packet would take a big hit with Saudi Arabia's 20% income tax rate leaving him with a a tax bill of around £7m.

Luckily for the ex-Liverpool captain, he's always insisted that his move to Saudi was never about the money. So, there should be nothing in his way should he depart in January – although he will be abandoning his plan of heading to the Middle East to "build a club and build the league.”

With his future up in the air, GIVEMESPORT has decided to rank his possible transfer options. At this stage, any concrete Henderson rumours are yet to emerge, so this is just pure speculation for the most part.

7 Liverpool

Every now and then in football, you get a player who leaves a club with big ambitions to take their career in a new direction. And then, after a brief miserable spell away, they end up right back where they started. For example, Robbie Keane left Tottenham Hotspur to join Liverpool in 2008 but returned to White Hart Lane just six months later.

Well, perhaps Henderson could be hoping to follow a similar path. He has a "very good relationship" with Jurgen Klopp, so this could be a possibility. But with the Reds thriving without him, having signed Dominik Szoboszlai Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endō in the summer, they probably don't need another midfielder of his ilk.

6 Newcastle United

In many ways, this deal makes a lot of sense. An injury-ravaged Newcastle United have wobbled of late and could use some experience to steady the ship. Henderson has that in bucketloads, having played 492 times for Liverpool and captained the team to Premier League and Champions League triumphs. What's more, the Magpies have obvious links to Saudi, due to their ownership.

However, the 33-year-old is a former Sunderland player, joining the club when he was just eight. With the bitter rivalry between the Tyne-Wear clubs plain for all to see, this would be an unlikely move. Still, he's no stranger to a conversational transfer – so maybe don't rule this one out just yet.

5 Celtic

If Henderson can't succeed in sorting a return to Liverpool this winter, perhaps a move to Celtic would be the next best thing. After all, the two teams have a connection and if he ended up joining the Scottish giants, he would be reuniting with former Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.

The Northern Irish manager gave the England midfielder the captain's armband in 2015 and they worked together at Anfield for three years. In fact, only Klopp has coached Henderson for more games in his career, with 304 matches compared to Rodgers' 140. His huge wages would likely be a stumbling block here.

4 Sunderland

Henderson's transfer to Saudi Arabia certainly damaged his reputation but if he was to join boyhood club Sunderland down in the Championship, he would go some way to mending it. For those who have understandably criticised him for chasing money in the Middle East, a move to the English second tier would suggest that maybe he isn't just focused on his finances at this stage of his career.

The Black Cats have a young and talented squad who may well make the playoffs this season – just like they did last term –as they chase a return to the Premier League. Their recent FA Cup defeat to rivals Newcastle showed how they lack that little bit of quality and experience but a signing like Henderson could help bridge the gap to the top level of English football.

3 Manchester United

The belief is that Henderson is desperate for a return to the Premier League and the biggest club, silly enough to spend a load of money on a 33-year-old such as that, surely has to be Manchester United. The likely loan exit of Jadon Sancho should free up some wages and midfield has been a problem area for Erik ten Hag since his arrival, so this could be a decent short-term solution.

What's more, Sir Jim Ratcliffe now has control over football operations and sporting decisions at Old Trafford, and seeing as INEOS regularly went out and signed big Premier League names of the past for OGC Nice – such as Ross Barkley, Aaron Ramsey, and Nicolas Pepe – Henderson fits the bill perfectly on that front.

2 Bayern Munich

SunSport has reported that an unnamed German club are "monitoring Henderson's situation with particular interest" and while this could be any one of a number of Bundesliga teams, Bayern Munich have to be prime suspects. After all, they've clearly been watching a lot of English football of late.

First, they signed Three Lions captain Harry Kane, who has broken record after record in Germany, and now they are being heavily linked with Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier. With that being the case, they may well also have Henderson on their radar.

1 Chelsea

Under Todd Boehly, Chelsea have been incredibly hard to predict in the transfer market. But one consistency has been their ability to spend and spend without ever looking like they have formed a well-balanced squad. Backing up this claim is a recent report in football.london which states that Henderson could be "the answer to Chelsea's midfield problems".

The same article reveals that Conor Gallagher could be sold to Spurs this winter and with Mauricio Pochettino's side lacking experience – they have the youngest Premier League squad this season – perhaps Henderson could come in to bring some real leadership to the unproven and inconsistent group. He would surely jump at the opportunity to join the Blues.