“He is a world-class striker, he is a legend and will stay a legend forever. He doesn’t always make the squad which is ridiculous, but he is there when we need him every time.” These were the words of Jurgen Klopp describing probably the most underrated striker in the Premier League, Divock Origi. The Belgian has emerged as a cult hero at Merseyside during his 7-year long career under Klopp. The striker has scored some very important goals for Liverpool in recent years with his performance at Anfield against FC Barcelona in the UCL semis being arguably his best in a Liverpool shirt.
His playing minutes however have dwindled with the recent attacking reinforcements signed by the Reds. The signing of Diogo Joto and Luis Diaz have certainly provided Jurgen Klopp with a variety of attacking options to choose from with Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Takumi Minamino already at the club. Origi has made just 17 appearances for Liverpool this season with 6 goals and 4 assists.
Divock Origi’s career at Liverpool is set to come to an end this summer with the 27-year-old reportedly on his way to Serie A giants AC Milan on a 3-year deal. The lack of minutes at Liverpool and the desire to represent Belgium at the World Cup are the main reasons behind the striker’s departure from Anfield. Let’s take a look at how he will fit in at AC Milan and why he is a good signing for the Rossoneri.
Upgrade on the current attacking options
Stefano Pioli currently has Olivier Giroud, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ante Rebic, Rafael Leao, Daniel Maldini and Marko Lazetic as his attacking options. With Zlatan and Giroud nearing retirement, Origi would be the perfect replacement to fill in their shoes. He offers a different attacking profile than the two Roseneri strikers who play more as a target man. Origi’s experience playing as a no.9 for Liverpool where he has to link up with the midfielders and the wingers and arrive in the box for crosses would be of use in the current AC Milan side next season. The likes of Theo Hernandez, Brahim Diaz, Samuel Castillejo and Rafael Leao could flourish with Origi in the team. Not only is his link-up play good, but the timing of his runs and the ability to be at the right place at the right time would also be crucial for Milan next season with the Roseneri returning to the Champions League.
Champions League pedigree
AC Milan will be back amongst the elite teams in Europe with their qualification to the Champions League for next season already confirmed after crashing out in the group stages this season. Origi’s experience in the competition would be the X factor for Pioli’s men and for the Milan faithful who would expect their club to at least survive in the competition till the quarter-final stage next season. The rebuild at AC Milan is taking the club to the next level with the Roseneri on course to win the league this season. Smart signings like Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud have helped the team enormously this season and Origi’s arrival at Milan could also have the same impact the two former PL players had this year.
