13 Oct 2014

€30m star raves: €12m LFC 'monster' will be 'one of the best in the world'. Excited?

Last week, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers claimed than €12m summer signing Divock Origi 'will be world class' at some stage in the future, and it appears that Man City and Belgium captain Vincent Kompany shares Rodgers' view on the young striker's burgeoning potential.

Origi has 4 goals/1 assist in 11 appearances for loan-club Lille so far this season, and when asked about the youngster's progress recently, Rodgers fawned:

"We took a player in Divock Origi who we believe will be world-class. Now he is a top player. He has everything — the speed, the profile and so on"

Origi scored one goal and created another in Belgium's 6-0 thrashing of Andorra over the weekend, and when asked after the game about the 19 year old's potential, €30m-rated Kompany raved:

"He is very gifted and talented [and] an outstanding worker in training. I see him working like crazy. Technically, he’s a monster, and in a few years he will be become one of the five or ten best strikers in the world"

Over the last two years, Rodgers has wasted tens of millions of LFC's money on the wrong players, but perhaps he's actually got it right this time? If the hype over Origi is to be believed, then Liverpool have finally unearthed another player capable of making a Daniel Sturridge-style impact on the team.

Alas, LFC fans will have to wait almost a year to see if Origi can maintain his form and deliver on his undoubted promise. Rodgers recently noted that he'd like to have the youngster at Anfield this season, but I still have a sneaking suspicion that it'll be a couple of years before Origi ever plays for Liverpool.

If the Reds sign another top-class striker in January (Cavani, perhaps), and keep Balotelli, I don't see how there's room for Origi next season. Yes, he can come back and sit on the bench, but he's much better off getting regular first-team football elsewhere, so another loan deal is definitely a possibility.

Plus, Origi is only 19, and there's no guarantee that he'll develop at the rate everyone seems to expect. And let's not discount the worst case scenario: injury. One bad injury could derail Origi's forward progress. Fellow Belgian Christian Benteke is a prime comparison, here - a barnstorming season in the Premier League, but one injury later, and he's struggling to consistently reproduce the same form.

Origi seems like the real deal, though, and this after a series of underwhelming deals, Rodgers desperately needs a win on the transfer front. However, by the time Origi makes his Liverpool debut, the manager's position could conceivably be under threat.

Now, if only Liverpool had Kompany at the heart of defence...

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23 comments:

  1. Divock Origi and Jordan Ibe will be exciting upgrade options to have next season!

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  2. Actually, when Balotelli signed, I argued that hubris played a part in the deal. Doesn't mean he won't turn out to be a great signing.

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  3. Yep Berlisconi has a cheek to criticise anyone! he has a roll of shame that can only be rivaled by Graeme Souness Replacing World class players with Torben Piechnik, Paul Stewart, Istvan Kozma, Dean Saunders, NIgel Clough ,Julian DIcks, David James, Mark Walters................Actually Souness wins hands down :)

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  4. Bunga bunga? I'll be back :)

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  5. In fairness to Benteke, I think his problems amount to more than just one injury.

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  6. i was just hoping that someone discuss about origi's progress and u came with the article..nice points..its too early to say anything yet but talent is surely there..has got pace,power and control and shoots well too..really looking forward to see his and ibe's development.

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  7. well i reckon its great markovic injured. horrid signing

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  8. a player who is 20 coming to a difficult league and played a few games only is already judged as horrid..nice way too back your players..well done mate

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  9. Horrid post. For shame.

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  10. Joey Barton was on FletchAndSav before the Everton match and he relentlessly criticised Balotelli.Despite a good defence from Robbie Savage he wasn't in the mood to take anyone's points on board.
    He was then asked if Gerrard's minutes need to be cut and can he improve on the defensive role he plays.Barton was quick to dodge the question like bullets from the Matrix saying he hadn't watched Liverpool or SG for ages.
    Then Joey Barton said something about Hendo and others in the team which clearly told the viewers he's kept a eye on Liverpool.
    People in the media are scared to give a honest assessment about Steven Gerrard, but are quick to goal kick other players in the nuts!

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  11. I doubt we'll buy another striker in January. Origi will probably take Borini's place in the squad. Can't see us loaning out a fully fledged Belgian international who's performing the way he is. I could be wrong but Origi does indeed look the real deal and I expect he'll join up with our first team next season.

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  12. Disgraceful comment

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  13. Kopite S your not the only one who thinks Lazar Markovic looks like garbage, but saying it's great he got injured is going too far.
    This comment will go down like a lead balloon, but i couldn't give two hoots!

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  14. ......and Carra before him and most recently Kenny Dalgish as Manager. A large chunk of our fans would rather see the club go under than have their living angels ego's dented.

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  15. I hope that you are actually an opposition fan trying to troll, honest to god. If you think he's a horrid signing, fair enough (although as usual in my own preachy manner I would invite you to elaborate), that's your opinion but if your opinion is that it is a good thing he's injured (or great as you put it) then I vote that your opinion is not welcome. To wish injury upon a player, whether they are on your team, opposition or a rival, is 'horrid'. If you are trolling, keep your voice down, if you are genuinely a kopite as your name suggests, please don't expect support for your comment. Peace, YNWA

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  16. Hey JK, just wondering if you’ll be posting an article based around Sterling vs Hodgson or should I say Liverpool Fans and Sterling vs Everyone Else?



    I’m just speechless at the vitriolic bile that’s being spewed by ex-internationals (generally ex-chelsea/spurs/united/arsenal players)
    to say that he’s lazy… The guy has played so much football and it is actually showing in his game! Look at his last 3 games and tell me that isn’t a burnt out player. He was honest and came forward before a game against (with all due respect) minnows of the competition. It’s not his fault that everyone else in the NT, barring Hendo, Lallana, Studge and occasionally Wilshere are completely incompetent, along with the manager, whose tact throughout this saga has been deplorable to say the least.

    I find it disgusting that if Sterling had faked an injury, saying that his hammys were playing up or something along those lines, nothing would be said. Nicky Butt admitted that old whiskeynose redface gobshite TOLD HIM TO FAKE INJURY to escape int’l duty. Le Prof did it with Fabregas too. Sterling has the guts to come out and say that he needs a break where almost any other player would have faked a muscle pull, something serious enough to keep them out of the next game, but not so serious that it will affect their club football.

    I have to say again though, Woy’s handling of the situation made me sit down, hand over my face, pulling down towards my chin in that exact
    motion that he did during every game, making his face stretch halfway to his shoes. He has shown zero support, zero professionalism and zero effort to actually look like a decent manager of a Blue Square side, let alone the English NT. England need a real manager, someone who will commit to the cause, support his players and make it so that they want to go on international duty, because there might actually be something to play for, more than group stages of international tournaments.

    /endrant. Peace, YNWA

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  17. The ideal scenario is that Mario reaches peak form at Liverpool, Sturridge continues to do as well as he's already done, Borini and Lambert fill the gaps this season and next year Origi comes into the squad with 15-20 french league goals to his name. Lot's of potential there, also lot's of reasons to think it just won't work. Mario could be a flop, Sturridge could get injured consistently, Lambert and Borini might never really contribute and Origi could come to England and really struggle. I think it's a big big margin between the best and worst case.


    One thing I'm sure of though - if Kompany was signed tomorrow he'd come into the Liverpool side and look just as average and mistake-prone as every other defender we've had in the past 2 years.

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  18. Very good post I enjoyed it.

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  19. You can't see how there is room? Right now Andy Carrol could keep Balotelli out of our first team so I'm pretty sure Origi can.

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  20. Jordon Ibe will go the same way Suso is going

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