According to yesterday’s reports from Liverpool Echo, Liverpool are prepared to pay £3m to Lille to cancel Divock Origi’s loan deal and sign him permanently in January. However, French newspaper L’Equipe are claiming that the Reds in fact came with a second proposal of €6m excluding bonuses for the services of the Belgian six months early.
Liverpool have increased offer to €6m for loanee Divock Origi. Lille would pocket a whopping €19m in all if they accept (L’Equipe)
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) January 5, 2015
Tony Barret of the Times also feels that there is no real breakthrough as of now between the two sides.
No real breakthrough in Liverpool’s attempts to recruit Origi this month. Lille are seeking a bigger premium than Liverpool willing to pay.
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarretTimes) January 5, 2015
The Reds had earlier signed Origi for £10m in the summer but chose to loan him till the end of the season. However Daniel Sturridge’s injury and Mario Balotelli poor form has forced the Brendan Rodgers’ side to look for striking options in the winter transfer window. Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert too haven’t lived to the expectation which has compounded the misery for the Anfield side.
But is Origi really the solution or are Liverpool putting too much expectations on the youngster?
It would be only safe to say that the Reds are taking a huge gamble on the 19 year old who has scored only four goals this season and is on a three month barren run since October. The World Cup too showed that Origi is not exactly a type of player who can be dependable when you need goals, rather he thrives on chances and has a predatory instinct.
Moreover, he is very poor defensively and doesn’t at all come deep to aid play or hold the ball up. Liverpool’s potential £14m (£10m plus added price to bring him in January) shows yet another poor dealing by the transfer committee. Given that Origi has no experience to play in the highest echelon of top flight English football is another major problem.
[polldaddy poll=8561213]Elsewhere, midfielder Jordan Henderson is lined up to take over from Steven Gerrard as Liverpool captain at the end of the season. Rodgers said:
“I think Jordan Henderson has all the leadership attributes, that was one of the reasons I made him vice-captain. I felt he had no greater captain to learn from than Steven, he was benefiting from his example even before he was vice-captain”.
“But certainly in that new role he has been in pole position in terms of learning from a great, how the job works on and off the field. So when the day comes that Steven does move on we feel we have someone there to offer the same wisdom and knowledge even if he is a different type of player.”
[polldaddy poll=8561212]Henderson, signed by former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish from Sunderland for a huge transfer fee, struggled early on, and there were even reports that Rodgers wanted to sell him in his first season.
The 24-year-old England international however has grown from strength to strength ever since and is one of key players for Liverpool at the moment, with Rodgers entrusting him with the vice-captaincy role.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
