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The World Cup has proved a capable distraction for most of the past month, but with only two matches left to play--and one that neither of the two teams involved will be too thrilled about--it's time to shift focus back to Liverpool. Only one week now until their first preseason friendly at Brondby, and, according to reports on Wednesday afternoon, two players on the verge of joining the club.
Both are young talents moving from abroad; Lille and Belgium striker Divock Origi was spotted at Melwood earlier in the day, giving way to speculation that he was set for a medical. That notion was quickly dismissed, however, with clarification coming from James Pearce:
Divock Origi was at Melwood today to meet the manager and discuss personal terms. He's considering his options. No medical scheduled. #LFC
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) July 9, 2014
That could be cause for some mild hand-wringing (as though most actually need an excuse), but it still seems like a step in the right direction for Liverpool securing the services of the talented youngster. Brendan Rodgers has proven himself an excellent manager and, in most cases, a wonderful communicator with his players. In the case of Origi, Rodgers can point to his commitment to bringing younger players along, and hopefully there's little convincing that needs to be done to finalize the move.
Which has already happened for the other youngster, apparently, as Lazar Markovic is set for a medical tomorrow ahead of making the move to Merseyside. With Chelsea opting out of a bid--and the drastically reduced purchasing price that came with their option--there appear to be no hurdles left to pass, and one of the more promising young forwards in Europe should be all wrapped up and announced by the end of the week.
Assuming the deal does go through, that makes four signings in total for Liverpool this summer, with Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, and Emre Can already brought aboard. If Origi follows in short order, that's a nice handful of signings before the preseason begins in full.
