Liverpool Transfer News: Henderson on the Brink of Signing a New Contract at Anfield

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson is reportedly very close to agreeing a new five-year deal worth £100,000-a-week with the club.

The 24-year-old midfielder, who arrived from Sunderland for a reported £16 million in the summer of 2011, has been in good form this season, starting in almost every game.

His good form has caught the attention of many sides, and there have been rumours of Chelsea being interested in the midfielder, whose current contract with Liverpool expires next summer.

As a result the Reds had earlier offered a new £80,000-a-week deal to Henderson, but the former Sunderland man rejected the offer.

The Merseyside club have been facing a lot of problems convincing their players to stay, as a lot of them seem to be keen on leaving Anfield.

Liverpool favourite Steven Gerrard first turned down a new contract and shocked everyone by announcing that he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season.

After that, Raheem Sterling turned down a new £100,000-a-week deal, saying that the "timing was off" and he would only be opening talks with the Reds after the end of the season.

However, the Reds seem to have succeeded this time as, according to the BBC, Henderson is on the brink of signing a new five-year contract worth £100,000-a-week.

Liverpool will be relieved after sorting out Henderson's future as the midfielder has managed to establish himself as one of the key players at Anfield, and he is heavily tipped to get the captain's armband after Gerrard's departure at the end of the season.

Meanwhile, Liverpool defender Kolo Toure says that Steven Gerrard will be able to get over the disappointment of getting knocked out of the FA Cup even though this was his last chance to win a piece of silverware in the Reds' colours.

Victory in the FA Cup would have been the perfect sending off for Gerrard ahead of his summer move to the MLS, with his 35th birthday also falling on the same date as the competition's final on 30 May.

However, the Reds' 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the semifinal of the FA Cup at Wembley on Sunday ended Gerrard's hopes of landing a final trophy in his last appearance for his boyhood club.

And Toure admits that the whole team is feeling very disappointed.

"You feel bad. It is always difficult when you lose a semifinal like that," Toure told Press Association Sport." The defeat is the thing. Of course we wanted to do very well for the last game of Stevie for the club but at the end of the day, we wanted to do it for the fans because this club deserves to have a trophy."

However, the former Manchester City and Arsenal defender insists Gerrard has enough experience to "deal with these situations", and is confident that the midfielder will be able to get over the disappointment.

"He is fine. Of course he is sad, like all the dressing room, but he has been in this game for a long time and he knows how to deal with these situations," added Toure.