Divock Origi was, without question, one of the most popular figures Liverpool have enjoyed at Anfield, firmly establishing cult icon status with his phenomenal performances from the bench and big-game moments.
His support for the club’s up and coming stars may have comparatively gone under the radar, however, with Harvey Elliott recounting their last conversation at L4 and the Belgian’s generous spirit.
“As I said, he’s a great guy and a great player. He was a big help in settling in,” the teenager told liverpoolfc.com.
“He was always there for me and always very open to speaking to me if I ever needed anything, and still is now.
“The last thing he said to me was, ‘If you need anything, here’s my number, give me a call.’
“To have that support around me from players like him, it’s always nice to know that you have people there that you can go and speak to if you need anything. To be able to see him again on Friday, I’m looking forward to it.”
With only two goal contributions from his first 14 games for new club AC Milan, it’s fair to say that his switch to the Italian top-flight hasn’t gone quite as planned so far.
Still, fans will no doubt be confident in Origi’s ability to turn things around and make his time in Italy as much of a success as it was in Merseyside.
On our end, we’ll be hoping that pre-season 2.0 proves to be far better preparation for the remainder of the campaign than the first and helps us get back into the top four spots.
Even with Luis Diaz out of action until March, there’s still more than enough quality left over to kick things off with a big performance against the league holders in the Carabao Cup on 22 December.