Divock Origi is too good to be benched

Liverpool forward Divock Origi is too good to be benched.

On the 2nd of December of 2018, Liverpool, who were challenging Manchester City for the Premier League title, played against a tough Everton side. The match was heading for a draw – a result which would have seen City increase their lead to four points at the top of the league table.

However, a 96th-minute winning goal from Divock Origi saved the day and secured Liverpool’s points. The victory brought the gap to only two points and aided in the Red’s year-long battle with Man City for the Premier League title.

Furthermore, besides three points for the short term, the goal also signified the return of a world-class player who would go on to help the club deliver on the biggest stages in European football.

But the arrival of new attackers at the club this season has changed things and the Belgian striker’s imminent future at Liverpool looks bleak.

When Jurgen Klopp was first appointed Liverpool’s head coach in 2015, Origi was one of the regular starters and scored some scintillating goals – alongside fellow attackers Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho. However, after his initial glory, his following years were ravaged by injuries.

According to Transfermarkt, the Belgian international struggled with problems in his knee, ankle, thigh, calf, and also dealt with muscular problems. His injury struggles led him to miss an innumerable number of games under Jurgen Klopp between 2015 and 2017.

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Spending regular time on the sidelines and struggling with fitness, he was sent out on loan to Wolfsburg for the 2017-2018 season to work on fitness and rediscover his pacy footwork, fiery pace, and clinicality in front of goal. However, after a failed loan spell, a permanent sale from Liverpool seemed to be a possibility.

But Origi stayed at Anfield and started 2018-2019 season as a member of Klopp’s squad, but didn’t feature until December, when he seized a rare opportunity from the bench and scored a late goal against Merseyside rivals Everton.

Since that moment, fortunes turned, and Origi was man-made for the big occasions, scoring against Newcastle in the league, and three Liverpool era-defining goals against Barcelona and Tottenham in the Champions League semi-finals and finals.

The beginning of the 2019-2020 season saw him sign a new contract and have more game time, as he scored stunners against Arsenal in the Carabao cup and vital goals against Everton and Newcastle United, which assisted in the club’s first league title in 30 years.

However, the 2020-2021 season at Liverpool has seen dampened fortunes for the Belgian international. He hasn’t started a single game for the reds with Klopp favoring new attackers Takumi Minamino and Diogo Jota.

The Belgian attacker’s current circumstances of falling out of favor with Klopp could see him on the move in the January transfer window or the next summer transfer window. This would be a shame: a world-class player like Origi needs to play more often and not sit on a world-class team’s bench.