Jurgen Klopp left Divock Origi out of Liverpool’s squad to face Chelsea today, despite the young Belgian starting every one of the German’s matches so far.
But thankfully it’s not because the striker is injured, but because his performances have been so poor the manager thinks he’ll benefit from time on the training ground instead, according to James Pearce at the Echo.
In his place, Portuguese playmaker Joao Teixeira makes the bench following an impressive midweek League Cup outing.
Origi hasn’t travelled. Klopp told him he felt it would be more beneficial for him to train at Melwood than watch from the sidelines. #LFC
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) October 31, 2015
The decision makes sense with Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino fit enough to compete for the sole striking spot Klopp’s so far been utilising.
In anyone’s book, Origi has struggled to adapt to English football, and some time on the sidelines will hopefully do him good.
He has talent and the required physical attributes to develop into a proper forward, but so far lacks the decision making and tactical aspects.