Divock Origi Willing to “Fight Hard” to Stay at Liverpool

The 23-year-old striker wanted either a permanent move or to stay at Liverpool. He got the latter, now he’ll have to fight.

Divock Origi was always meant to depart Liverpool this past summer, and when it looked as though Liverpool’s asking price would put off any permanent buyers, most assumed the striker would still head out again—just on loan instead.

The player’s father, though, says that was never an option. That Origi was determined either to find himself a new permanent home or to stay at Anfield, and that he didn’t want to spend another year gaining experience at a temporary home.

“Dortmund and Valencia showed good interest,” Mike Okoth Origi said over the weekend. “But they couldn’t match what Liverpool wanted and there was no way Divock was going out on loan again so he will have to fight for his place.”

Origi, now 23 years of age, has two seasons left to run on his Liverpool deal meaning that a permanent deal will still be possible come next summer, but a year spent in the reserves at this stage of his fledgling career is far from ideal.

That isn’t the goal, though. It may be tough to see Origi’s path to playing time at Liverpool today, but a lot can happen in a season and the player’s father insists he believes that his chance will come—and that he can take it when it does.

“He has seen the difference between Liverpool and other clubs and will obviously know that he has to fight hard,” he added. “Three months in football is a long time. Let’s wait and see what will happen between now and the winter window.”

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com