Despite spending the better part of the start of the season out-right denying that they had any interest in bringing striker Divock Origi back from his loan at Ligue One side Lille early, Liverpool look set to do just that in the coming days with a £3mil compensation package on the table to tempt Les Dogues.
The youngster, who was to spend this season with the French side as a major part of his deal to join the Reds, has struggled on the continent this season after starting the campaign brightly. Although the Anfield outfit continue to publicly distance themselves from an early recall, Origi has been less than diplomatic over his future at Lille, telling the media that he wants to hook up with his Liverpool teammates as soon as possible — a wish it looks like he’s going to get.
With star striker Daniel Sturridge out injured since the end of August, Brendan Rodgers side have been short on firepower all season. With Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini yet to bag a league goal between them, the Reds have failed to generate the kind of offensive momentum their particular brand of football requires; though that does beg the question why they’d bring back a player that’s still developing, may not get the same amount of time on the pitch at Anfield and, crucially, hasn’t found the net since October.
The announcement that long-serving captain Steven Gerrard would be leaving the club at the end of the season has prompted Rodgers to call on the owners to splash out for ready made players. While one might argue that the likes of Dejan Lovren, Balotelli and Adam Lallana aren’t the kind of promising, young players that Liverpool normally invest in, Origi certainly is — we’ll see if he can all of a sudden find his shooting boots in his new surroundings.
