London: Liverpool have taken a major step in their post-Steven Gerrard reconstruction by agreeing a £100,000-a-week deal with Jordan Henderson that will keep the England midfielder at the club for the peak years of his career.

The 24-year-old is expected to sign terms by the end of this week, tying him to Anfield until 2020. It will end months of negotiations and lift some of the gloom around the club following their FA Cup disappointment.

Talks were concluded before the semi-final defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday, although it was hoped the vice-captain would be signing the contract in better circumstances.

Henderson will be hoping to be confirmed as club captain when Gerrard leaves for LA Galaxy at the end of the campaign, though Brendan Rodgers is yet to confirm that. The manager will be seeking to add experience to his squad before next season and has kept his options open on the captaincy.

It is likely that Rodgers is waiting to see how many established, senior players he can sign, but he will be delighted that Henderson’s long-term future is resolved as he maps out a recovery plan — with the continued support of the Anfield hierarchy — after a difficult eight months.

The immediate focus for the Merseyside club is to win their remaining Premier League games as there is still hope that they could steal a Champions League place, though that would require Manchester City or Manchester United to slip up in their remaining fixtures.

Should Liverpool miss out on the top four — as seems most likely — the annual post-season review by the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, will focus on the squad imbalance that ensured Liverpool played virtually eight months without a recognised, top-class striker.

There is an acknowledgement at the top of the club that the business conducted in last summer’s transfer window has not had the desired impact, and recognition that the manager has had to deal with too many setbacks to succeed, particularly the sale of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge’s prolonged absence.

There is certainly no appetite to make Rodgers a scapegoat for campaign that looks like it will end up as a disappointing one, with none of the key targets met.

With the exception of Emre Can, the promising Germany Under-21 international, none of last summer’s signings have produced consistently. Adam Lallana, who has had injury problems, Alberto Moreno and Lazar Markovic will be under severe pressure if they do not radically improve when they return to Anfield in pre-season.

Liverpool are still confident of recruiting Danny Ings from Burnley this summer, and they hope James Milner will opt to move to Anfield on a free transfer from Manchester City, though missing out on Champions League football could complicate that deal.

There is also interest in PSV Eindhoven’s Memphis Depay, although Manchester United are also believed to be tracking the winger.

Not only will Gerrard be leaving, but Glen Johnson and Kolo Toure are out of contract and Lucas Leiva — who nearly left in January — is expected to end his Anfield career.

— The Daily Telegraph