If you had thought you heard the last of Divock Origi at Liverpool, think again! The Belgian striker who is currently on a season-long loan at Bundesliga side Wolfsburg is relishing the prospect of relaunching his Liverpool career next year. That, after deciding not to take the loan offer made by Premier League rival Tottenham Hotspur.
According to the latest report in the Liverpool Echo, the striker had a number of clubs interested in his services. Spurs and Newcastle United were credited with an interest but the Reds wanted him to experience an overseas club.
Incidentally, there were a lot of foreign clubs too who were interested in him, with Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, and Werder Bremen all making inquiries. Eventually, it was Wolfsburg who secured Origi with a loan fee of around £6m. It was the most attractive offer on the table.
Origi, who has scored 21 goals in 77 matches for the Reds since signing from Lille in 2015, fell down the pecking order since Jurgen Klopp signed Dominic Solanke this summer, with Daniel Sturridge also ahead of him. He has scored once in five matches for the Bundesliga side.
The Belgian youngster feels that he still has scope to settle down and prove himself to Klopp.
“You can’t expect for a youngster to perform consistently,” he told HLN (h/t Liverpool Echo). “It went with ups and with downs. I scored 21 goals in two years. Not bad.”
“I’ve learned a lot at Liverpool. It’s still my plan to return after this season. But now I’m focusing on Wolfsburg.”
Was Origi unlucky or did he miss the bus at Liverpool? There is no doubt that Origi is a really talented forward – just look at what he did to Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal in the Europa League 2015/16 competition to get a glimpse.
However, the bane for Origi has been his inconsistency, which often frustrated Klopp. That led to the German going for Solanke as a replacement and pushing Origi towards the exit door.
In this entire episode, I feel Tottenham are the biggest losers. They wanted Origi as a backup to their first-choice striker Harry Kane. With the Reds not willing to sanction the deal, they eventually signed Fernando Llorente. Although the jury is divided on who is better, I feel Origi is the real deal.
It is an important season for him and I hope he proves me right!
