Liverpool have told Divock Origi he’ll feature more prominently in 2019/20 if he puts pen to paper on a new deal, reckons respected Belgian journalist Kristoff Terreur.
The 24-year-old made 12 Premier League appearances last term and scored just seven goals in all competitions, but the majority of those were iconic – including two in the Champions League semi-final v Barcelona and one in the Final v Spurs.
As a result, the club wants to put its eggs in the striker’s basket, rather than break the bank for another forward to compete with Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.
Liverpool are keen to up both Origi’s wages and his minutes.
“He has been promised a bigger role next season now [Daniel] Sturridge has left. They’ve offered him good money. I think he will sign a new deal for four or five years”, Terreur told the Sky Sports Transfer Talk podcast.
In January, we sold Dom Solanke and this summer have allowed Danny Ings a permanent exit to Southampton, while releasing Daniel Sturridge on a Bosman.
So bar Origi, the only attacker we have on the books to support the front-three is Rhian Brewster.
However, the 19-year-old is rated incredibly highly, and we cannot imagine Jurgen Klopp and the coaching staff would choose to go into the new season with the teenager set to play such a large role if he wasn’t a genuinely special talent.
Origi simply needs to continue where he left off and play with confidence. When he does, he’s a different animal.