Divock Origi With An Eye Towards a Liverpool Return

It’s been an odd go for Divock Origi since becoming a Liverpool player in the summer of 2014. The Belgian striker never properly got his mojo rising under either Brendan Rodgers or Jürgen Klopp. Their were hints that Origi might take off on a tear after Klopp’s first summer in charge, having ended the 2015/16 season on a high, but ultimately he still found himself behind Roberto Firmino in the pecking order.

Way back in August of 2016 I had predicted that the ex-Lille goalscorer would surpass Daniel Sturridge on the depth chart but a combination of his struggles within the manager’s system and the slow but steady rise of Sturridge out of injury hell had significantly hampered Origi’s chances. Then, Dominic Solanke’s arrival this passed summer. Opportunities for the 22-year-old would have been extremely limited this season.

Now on loan at Wolfsburg, Origi has time and space to stake his claim as an important striker in the world of football. So far he’s scored just one goal in five appearances for the Bundesliga side but he’s got his head up and will be determined to not let his star fall this year.

And as you’ll glean from the quotes below, Origi gets his hackles up at the notion he’s somehow regressed as a footballer.

“You can’t expect for a youngster to perform consistently,” said Origi.

“It went with ups and with downs. I scored twenty-one 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.”

There’s no question that Divock Origi is a talented player. And I’m more than open to him returning to Liverpool once this loan is over. But I’m not exactly hopeful for him that he’ll be able to play a dominant role in this team. In a year’s time he’s likely to still be behind Firmino and Sturridge no matter his accolades at Wolfsburg.

And, of course, there’s still the debate over whether or not young Divock will ever be a proper fit for this Jürgen Klopp squad. But, then, there’s still debate over what a proper fit in this Jürgen Klopp squad really looks like. So, we’ll just leave this path open for now, Div.