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Earlier this month, the rumour mongers set out that Jordan Henderson was dragging his heels on signing a new Liverpool deal in order to set up a move to Barcelona this summer. Having since remembered Barcelona won’t be able to sign any new players this summer on account of their transfer ban, which prevents them registering any new players, those rumour mongers have had to concoct a new story.
That new rumour involves Manchester City, who as they are not under a UEFA-mandated transfer ban actually theoretically could sign Henderson this summer. So at least on the "is it actually possible?" scale the rumour mongers are doing a touch better this time around. They’re also doing a touch better on the "might this club actually want Jordan Henderson if he were available to them?" scale. So. Good work, guys.
The story goes that Manchester City, in light of proposed changes that increase the number of homegrown players a club need to have, are going to be busy spending their billions this summer on English talent. And with Yaya Toure nearing the end of his career, that talent is likely to be in midfield, where they have been linked with moves first for Jack Wilshere and now for Jordan Henderson.
All of which sounds nice from a City point of view—homegrown players to satisfy the regulations and they might even be good enough to start four or five games a year in the league once the Citizens had finished making all their signings—but hardly makes sense for the clubs that are supposed to be doing the selling. Particularly Liverpool, who see Henderson as a key starter in the squad.
If Henderson were available, it’s a sign of his increased standing that it isn’t impossible to imagine City wanting him as part of their midfield stable. Even with his contract running out in 2016, though, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where Liverpool would sell to the aspiring superclub down the road, and the Luis Suarez to not Arsenal saga should serve as reminder of how stubborn Liverpool can be when they don’t want to sell.
That the rumour exists at all, though, does serve as a reminder that Henderson’s contract situation is getting close to urgent, and that if, following the current season, the club cannot agree a new deal with him by the time players begin to arrive for pre-season training, he might well be shopped around. Just not, one would imagine, to Manchester City.
