Title-winning Liverpool hero could team up with Gerrard in Saudi Arabia – it’s not Firmino

Steven Gerrard is reportedly on the verge of being hired as the new manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq, and he could potentially bring another modern Liverpool legend with him.

As per GOAL, the 43-year-old is believed to be close to accepting a lucrative offer to take the reins with the Dammam outfit for what would be his first managerial post since being sacked by Aston Villa last October.

According to French outlet Sports Zone on Twitter, Sadio Mane has a ‘huge’ offer from the club, with PIF dreaming of bringing him to Saudi Arabia as Bayern Munich reportedly try to offload the former Reds attacker.

This follows on from a report by The Guardian on Monday that a number of clubs from the Middle Eastern country are considering a move for the Senegal star’s one-time Anfield teammate Bobby Firmino, who left Liverpool at the end of the 2022/23 season upon the expiry of his contract.

With Cristiano Ronaldo already playing in Saudi Arabia, Karim Benzema recently joining Al-Ittihad and players like Riyad Mahrez, Luka Modric and Hugo Lloris also linked with possible moves to the country (The Guardian), its allure as a destination for high-profile footballers appears to be growing all the time.

That reputation would be further underlined if either or both of Firmino and Mane follow suit, a scenario which would’ve seemed rather unlikely just three years when, along with Mo Salah, they were firing Liverpool towards a historic Premier League title triumph.

The financial backing of PIF, who also own Newcastle United, has seen the Saudi Pro League being touted as a plausible destination for a number of stars who lit up Europe in recent years, although in purely footballing terms it can’t rival the top European leagues for prestige.

Nonetheless, having been subjected to plenty of criticism during his time at Bayern, and also getting into conflict with some teammates, Mane might be tempted by a fresh start elsewhere, and it’d be an intriguing development if he were to become part of Gerrard’s squad at Al-Ettifaq.

Both are modern-day Liverpool legends but never actually played alongside one another, as the Senegal star came to the club a year after the Huyton icon left. However, if they’re to both end up at the same team in Saudi Arabia, plenty of Reds fans could have a keen eye on the Dammam outfit’s fortunes.

According to reports from Spain, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is believed to have Federico Valverde in his sights at Anfield, but the Real Madrid midfielder certainly won’t come cheap.

El Nacional have claimed that the Uruguayan could be jettisoned by the LaLiga giants, amid the imminent arrival of Jude Bellingham and a loss of form since returning from the World Cup.

The Reds are already believed to have told Los Blancos that they’d be interested in signing the 24-year-old for an initial €60m (£51.5m), while also communicating a willingness to bid €80m (£68.7m) up front plus €20m (£17.2m) in add-ons.

However, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has insisted that the 14-time champions of Europe won’t entertain any offers of less than €100m (£85.9m) straight.

Reported Liverpool transfer target Micky van de Ven has spoken about his future amid links of a possible exit from Wolfsburg, and Reds fans may be encouraged by what the defender has had to say.

It was reported in recent weeks that the Merseysiders have been tracking the 22-year-old (The i Paper), who was brought to the club by Jorg Schmadtke, the man who took over as sporting director at Anfield earlier this month.

It remains to be seen whether the Bundesliga club’s former chief will put his previous connections to good use with a move for the Dutchman, but if he does, the player might just be open to a transfer.

Van de Ven was speaking with ESPN ahead of his involvement for Netherlands in the upcoming European Under-21 Championship when he said (translated from Dutch): “I am very good at Wolfsburg, so I don’t mind staying at Wolfsburg for another year. But if I get the chance to leave, I would like to.

“Of course, I read everything (about the transfer rumours). I have good contact with my agent, so I know what’s going on. I’ll see where it will lead. Hopefully, [a big transfer after the Euros] would be nice. The Premier League? Maybe, yes. Who knows.”

While the defender has said he’s happy to remain with his current club, he certainly seems open to moving elsewhere, which could be very good news for Liverpool if they continue to show a firm interest in him.

Schmadtke and the Reds’ recruitment team could be paying very close attention to Netherlands’ games at the Under-21 Euros over the coming month.

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