Fabinho missed Liverpool’s pre-season training camp, leaving Jordan Henderson amid Saudi interest

Fabinho was left out of Liverpool’s squad for their training camp in Germany after Saudi club Al-Ittihad made a £40m ($52m) bid for the Brazil international.

However, Captain Jordan Henderson traveled to the Black Forest on Saturday as discussions continued over his future.

The decision to expel Fabinho from the camp was taken collectively on Friday night in order to resolve the situation after the offer was raised.

The 29-year-old midfielder, who has made 219 appearances for Liverpool since arriving from Monaco in 2018, has not refused to travel but is keen on a move to Saudi Arabia after fruitful talks on personal terms.

If, as expected, the Fabinho deal goes through, Liverpool will step up their pursuit of a new midfielder.

They retain interest in Southampton’s Romeo Lavia but consider his £50m price tag to be excessive.

Liverpool have been eyeing a long-term successor to Fabinho, but now they will need someone capable of breaking directly into Jurgen Klopp’s side. As a result, the profile of the player they are now following can change.

Moises Caicedo is not seen as a serious option as the Brighton midfielder is expected to join Chelsea.

However, Fiorentina’s Sofiane Amrabat, Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch and Manchester City’s Calvin Phillips are among those under consideration, along with Lavia.

Henderson has verbally agreed a lucrative three-year contract with Steven Gerrard’s Ettifaq club worth around £700,000 ($917,000) a week – but with no agreement between the two clubs over a flight fee to Germany.

Senior figures at Anfield have rejected suggestions that Henderson, who has two years left on his current deal, could either be given a free transfer or sold for a fee as low as £10m.

Defender Kalidou Koulibaly, 32, recently moved from Chelsea to Al Hilal for around £20m, with Liverpool considering that figure as a reference point.

(Photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)