Fabinho has been excluded from Liverpool’s squad flying out to Singapore as midfielder nears £40m ($51.82m) Al-Ittihad transfer.
The Brazilian’s move to Saudi Arabia was thrown into doubt due to payment structure issues, but negotiations have resumed and all parties are committed to finalising the deal.
According to The Athletic, Fabinho will be the latest superstar to join the Saudi Pro League following the takeover of four major clubs by the country’s Public Investment Fund.
The midfielder will join Jordan Henderson in heading to the Middle East, with Liverpool confirming the captain has sealed a deal to join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.
Fabinho had previously been left out of Liverpool’s pre-season camp in Germany as talks have been ongoing for a few weeks now. Now he will sit out the Singapore trip where Liverpool will play two friendlies against Leicester City and Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Liverpool continue to hold discussions with Southampton for the acquisition of Romeo Lavia. They have seen their first bid of £37 million ($48m) knocked back as the Saints remain firm on their £50m ($64m).
Fabinho is expected to complete his move to Al-Ittihad in the next few days. While Liverpool are gearing up to face Leicester City on Sunday in a pre-season friendly.