In November, reports had emerged that Liverpool could recall Divock Origi after they had a disastrous first half to the season. In the absence of Luis Suarez who went away to Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge, out with injury (still out) Liverpool have horribly fallen short of goals and amidst such conditions, reports suggesting the Reds were keen on bringing the summer addition back to Anfield weren’t surprising.
Italian duo Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini are yet to open their account in the Premier League and Daniel Sturridge has appeared in just three games due to recurring injuries since September. Rickie Lambert has scored once and isna t a regular starter.
Due to the misfiring strikers, Rodgers switched the formation to a 3-4-2-1 and has operated Raheem Sterling as the false nine, a move which fortunately for the Anfield outfit, has worked.
One month back, Origi’s arrival would have made perfect sense. But with the Reds finding their way back and finally gaining some momentum, recalling young Origi might not be necessary. Liverpool agreed to the one year loan with Lille as the French club were adamant that is the only way they were selling the player and it was essential in beating the competition for the young Belgian starleta s services. However, Lille are struggling themselves and find themselves in the bottom half of the table. Origi himself is going through a goalscoring drought and the point of him being on loan – to develop further – is being defeated. Him coming back, therefore, does make some sense. Of course, the point of Sturridge suffering another injury setback can also be brought into the argument. The Reds don’t want to find themselves struggling again if something like this happens.
Rodgers has confirmed that discussions over the player’s immediate future are taking place between the two clubs.
He’s a player that will definitely be here next summer. Whether he’ll be here or not in January is something that there has been discussion,” said the Reds boss.
“But there is nothing to report on it. The agreement with Lille was for him to stay there. So we’ll see how that works.
“But, if not, we’ve got players here that are developing and working well, and we’ll go with what we’ve got.”