Why Divock Origi could play a key role for Liverpool this season
The UEFA Champions League group stage draws were quite unkind to Liverpool this year. After all, the Reds have been drawn in a group of death along with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli. And a couple of days later, each club announced their respective squads for Europe’s premium competition. And one name, in particular, stood out.
Anfield’s forgotten man, Divock Origi, joined the Reds for £10million back in 2014. His inclusion could boost depth and help Liverpool progress through the group stages.
An earlier report from Daily Express had linked Origi to a move to Borussia Dortmund but Liverpool held onto the player.
As a result, the deal with Dortmund failed and Origi is still on Liverpool’s payroll. The Belgian was brought to England by former Liverpool manager Brendan Rogers. He played a few Premier League games in the 2015/16 season and scored goals as well.
But Rodgers’ untimely departure midway through the campaign was a turning point in Origi’s career. The player found playing minutes hard to come by under Jurgen Klopp.
The German manager clearly preferred Roberto Firmino as his centre-forward over Origi, thus pushing the Belgian onto the periphery of the first team. He only started a few games in the 2016/17 season and joined Wolfsburg on a season-long loan in August 2017. But the move didn’t turn out to be fruitful and Origi seemed to have hit an all-time low.
Despite his failings in the Liverpool shirt so far, Origi could play an important role this season. Daniel Sturridge is the only backup striker at Anfield and his record with injuries is well-documented.
With Champions League games and the EFL Cup around the corner, Liverpool must virtually play three games every week. The upcoming tight schedule will test the club’s squad depth to the core, forcing Klopp to utilize his resources smartly.
The cup games will provide plenty of time for Origi to kickstart his career and the 22-year-old must aim to impress the German manager and get back into his plans.
