OPINION
Who would have thought it at the beginning of the season? The fact that Divock Origi would be one of the most integral parts of the Liverpool squad.
Throughout the campaign, the Belgian international played a back-up role to Jurgen Klopp’s rampaging front-three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah.
There were many moments towards the end of the campaign where the 24-year-old became a hero at Anfield. It all started when he scored the winner in the Merseyside derby against Everton in December.
That is where Origi started to show his worth to the Reds, and fast forward to the end of the season and the Belgian forward really stamped his mark at Anfield.
After Firmino was ruled out of the second leg of the Champions League’s semi-final, and Origi stepped in and scored a brace on a memorable evening in Liverpool.
Then it came to the final, where the 24-year-old came off the bench to score the vital second goal against Tottenham which delivered the club’s sixth European success.
Contract talks have started between the two, with Klopp reportedly having promised to give the Belgian more playing time next season should he sign – a decision which could come back to hurt the two.
Origi, who earns £45,000-a-week (Source: Spotrac), only made four league starts for the Reds last season, with eight added appearances off the bench.
For Klopp and Liverpool to make this promise, they’re playing with fire as it would mean one of his front-three would be for more time on the sidelines – something that would surely not go well with the fans.
That player would most likely be Firmino, who outscores Origi in most if not all departments when attacking. The Brazilian was involved in 14 more goals in the previous campaign.
Firmino also averaged double the amount of shots per game with 2.2, and almost one more dribble on average (1.4). [WhoScored]
Klopp must be careful with what he promises in the next campaign or face an upheaval at the club with his marquee forwards.
