Klopp puts faith in Divock Origi, as new Liverpool boss reacts to cruel Danny Ings loss

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Jurgen Klopp is confident that Belgian forward Divock Origi can step up to the plate this season following the Danny Ings injury, the Liverpool Echo report.

The English 23-year-old picked up a cruciate ligament injury on his knee during the first training session with his new manager, and is expected to miss the entire of the season as a result – in what’s a truly awful bit of luck for the striker whose early Liverpool performances earned him an England call-up.

With Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino currently unavailable for selection also, Klopp has just two frontline strikers to choose from: Daniel Sturridge and Origi.

While Sturridge is the first name on our team sheet when fit, the 20-year-old forward is raw, and has yet to score a goal since arriving in the summer. But Klopp reckons he’s up to the job.

“We have Origi – do you know him?” he began.

“I learned first, you do not think about the players who are not available at this moment because there is no chance to get lucky if you do this all of the time.

“In the case of Benteke and Firmino, they are back on the pitch but not team training. I hope next week they will be in normal team training.

“Firmino could play in the striker position but we have to see if he should. In this moment – for the next game – we have Daniel for the position and we have Origi.

“Two strikers, I don’t need more. When you start if you have more it’s perfect. But you have to think how you can react. When Christian is fit then he is an option, for sure but at this moment he isn’t.”

The Ings news is terrible, but we’re unlikely to be short in options up top in fairness, considering Klopp has always favoured starting with just one centre-forward. Origi can backup Sturridge from the bench at the weekend, while Benteke and Firmino are nearing a return.

Origi is very talented, but he’s so far shown poor decision making and finishing alongside his undeniable pace and power. Now is his chance to hone his skills and prove he’s cut out for life at Anfield.

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