EXCL: Henderson LEAVES Saudi Arabia - who's next? Plus Toney's big club plea, Chelsea striker sale, winger's Man United revelation & more

Today's exclusive column, featuring Man Utd, Chelsea and the latest Saudi transfer news...

Who could follow Jordan Henderson out of the Saudi Pro League?

We’re hearing many stories about possibilities to sign players from the Saudi Pro League - for example, as I exclusively revealed last week, Jordan Henderson is going to join Ajax. It’s ‘here we go’ for Henderson’s move from Al Ettifaq to Ajax - he’s agreed a deal until 2026 and will travel to Amsterdam today for medical tests. It’s a fantastic signing for Ajax, with the former Liverpool captain terminating his contract at Al Ettifaq.

People keep asking me about other players possibly leaving Saudi as well, as we’ve had transfer rumours about Roberto Firmino and Karim Benzema. So, what’s the reality? To start with Firmino, from what I’m hearing, he is not going to leave Al Ahli despite links with Chelsea, Manchester United and many other clubs. The intention of Al Ahli is to continue with Firmino and the message I’m getting from the player’s camp is that he is not leaving in January - nothing is happening around Firmino. He is expected to continue with the Saudi club and not be part of any movement later on in the January transfer window. It was never a topic for Firmino to leave the club in January, so all reports of negotiations with English clubs were never confirmed.