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Despite some concerns that a strong showing at the World Cup would see his fee raise, the Liverpool Echo and other sources with ties to the club today confirm that a deal has been agreed for 19-year-old Belgian striker Divock Origi. The young star will cost Liverpool £6M up front, with the fee rising to £9.5M including all add-ons.
As previously rumoured, Origi will immediately be loaned back to Lille for the coming season, as Liverpool believe another year as a starter will be more valuable to his development than training at Liverpool and making the occasional substitute appearance. Given how raw the extremely talented youngster still is, this seems a reasonable choice.
It also avoids the pressure of having to deliver immediately after a summer where Liverpool will lose the Premier League's top goalscorer, and the club continue to explore options for replacing Luis Suarez with an established attacker who can deliver immediately. Suarez' move to Barcelona is expected to be completed as soon as Alexis Sanchez determines his future.
