With Belgium falling 1-0 to Argentina in the World Cup over the weekend, Liverpool have moved a step closer to snatching up promising striker Divock Origi as Reds boss Brendan Rodgers moves to make the youngster his fourth signing of the summer.
According to various media reports, the Anfield outfit will shell out an initial payment of £6mil to Lille with additional add-ons that could see the price rise to £9.5mil in the coming years depending on domestic appearances, international appearances and trophies won. As previously speculated, he’ll also been loan immediately back to the Ligue One side for the entirety of next season to insure that his development isn’t interrupted — though he’s highly rated, there’s a good possibility that he’ll find his first team chances few and far between during the upcoming season.
Which makes all the more sense — and falls in-line with what Lille’s shirt sponsor was saying last week — to keep him in familiar surroundings for the time being. The Belgian showed immense promise over a World Cup campaign that saw him score the winner against Russia en route to a quarter final clash, and eventual exit to, two-time champions Argentina.
Now that Belgium’s campaign is over, Origi is free to discuss terms with Liverpool ahead of completing a medical. The Reds have a keen interest in wrapping up most of their outstanding transfer business in the near future as they try to beat any inflated prices that could arise from the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona. Although this particular transfer isn’t likely to be affected by the Uruguayan’s departure, a large influx of cash always sees prices get a little more inflated.
