On 29 July 2014, Brendan Rodgers made his sixth summer signing by bringing in another striker, Divock Origi from Lille in Ligue 1. Lille were paid £10 million for the Belgian striker to join Liverpool after the conclusion of this season.
The 19-year-old striker was signed by Lille in 2010 from Genk in Belgium when he was only fifteen years old. According to Origi, Liverpool had been tracking him during his days at Genk.
Following the sale from Lille to Liverpool, Origi was sent back to Lille on a season-long loan. As the season has gone on, Origi has become somewhat frustrated with his manager constantly playing him on the wing. He is definitely better in the middle of the park.
Nonetheless, Origi has scored four goals in 27 appearances for Lille in all competitions. On 15 August 2014, Origi scored his club’s only goal in a 1-0 away victory over Caen. He won the penalty as he was taken down on a breakaway, and he buried the penalty kick in the bottom right corner.
His next goal came on 14 September 2014 in a 2-0 home victory over Nantes. His teammate received the ball on the right side, and Origi recognised he was stronger in the air than his opponent as he raised his hand for the ball to be played to his head. His teammate played the ball to the back post, and Origi headed it home in the 46th minute.
His next goal came on 27 September 2014 in a 1-0 home victory over Bastia. Origi got the ball on the left side at the corner of the box, cut inside, and smashed it into the lower left corner of the net from just outside the box in the 39th minute.
His next goal came on 2 October 2014 in the Europa League in a 1-1 away draw against Wolfsburg in Germany. He received the ball on the left side, raced past the defender after a stepover, and crossed into to teammate who had his shot come off the arm of another defender. Origi buried the penalty in the bottom left corner in the 77th minute to give his side the lead.
The Belgian’s next goal came on international duty eight days later in 6-0 home victory over Andorra. He blasted a shot with his right foot as he was falling away just outside the box that trickled into the bottom right of the net in the 59th minute.
His most recent appearance on the score sheet also came during international duty on 12 November 2014 in a 3-1 home victory over Iceland. He received the ball on the right side about halfway between the end line and the halfway line. He dribbled towards goal, cut inside, and drilled a shot from over 20 yards out with his left foot that beat the keeper near post.
This goal gave Belgium the lead in the 62nd minute. On 3 January 2015, Origi was seen holding his groin at the end of a 2-0 away defeat to Bastia in the French Cup.
He had an MRI scan and was out for about two weeks. Since his arrival in late July, Origi has racked up 2,013 minutes of playing time (roughly 22 full matches).
When Liverpool’s strikers struggled to score earlier in the season, Origi was rumored to be heading to Anfield early. However, he will stay with Lille until the end of the campaign. Lille currently sit 13th in Ligue 1, only five points above the drop zone. Origi will definitely be looking forward to arriving at Liverpool in the summer.
