The Liverpool cult hero that is Divock Origi will bring his time at Anfield to an end when the season concludes. Waiting in Italy for him is AC Milan, a “destination” he is ready for and has “no doubts” over.
Liverpool fans are going to enjoy a bittersweet ending to an extraordinary campaign; more sweet than bitter. Why the latter though? The Reds could be bidding farewell to a handful of first-team players who are in search of regular minutes.
One player that will leave the Merseyside coast for more game time and with a proud status intact is Divock Origi. He has been linked with an exit since last season but a move failed to materialise. Now because of him playing less than the required amount of games for the season (20 games), his contract will terminate at the end of the current campaign.
If he crossed the 20-game threshold, he would have then been contracted to Liverpool for an extra year, which would have seen his deal end in 2023.
"There has been some confusion regarding Origi’s contract, with no length revealed when he put pen to paper in 2019, and until recently the most reliable source, The Athletic’s James Pearce, had claimed it was due to run until 2023.However, Sky Sports have now explained that his deal is set to expire in 2022, though that would be automatically extended to 2023 if he reached a certain number of Premier League starts this season.That has been corroborated by Pearce along with other sources on Merseyside, and with Origi yet to start in the league in 2021/22, it seems likely he will be a free agent in the summer.(Via: thisisanfield.com)"
Including Newcastle United, three Serie A clubs have come knocking for the Belgian striker; the latter clubs trying to agree to a pre-agreement with him now that he can talk to other clubs outside of England. But Origi has his mind fixed on the San Siro and wants to stick to the colour Red.
"Divock Origi has no doubts on his next destination: he’s just waiting to complete medical tests and sign the contract as new AC Milan player in the coming weeks.Liverpool have already accepted his decision – he’s definitely leaving on a free transfer. (Via: @FabrizioRomano)"
Divock Origi Will Bring Eight Years to End at Liverpool
In his time at the club, he’s played 173 matches (67 starts) for them, scoring 41 goals and assisting a further 13. What a great strike rate of 0.53 goals per 90 minutes. Of those 22 goals, some either put the sword to neighbouring rivals Everton, won the Reds a Champions League gold medal, or even helped them secure a place in a cup final.
This season was a low number of appearances for him, featuring only 18 times for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they continue on their Quadruple run. Make no mistake Origi had a hand in it as well: contributing to four goals in their Premier League run and contributing to two and three goals in the Champions League and EFL Cup, respectively.
Even though he was not the first name on the teamsheet or in the starting lineup consistently, he will be sorely missed by Klopp and the club. They could depend on him at the darkest hour and he would deliver when coming out of the freezer.
It is unsure if Liverpool will replace Divock Origi with another squad-role player. Talks of Takumi Minamino taking over Divock’s function have made the rounds but conflicting talks suggest they could be ready to cash in on the Japan international.
Two more fixtures left for Liverpool: A final day decider against Wolves at Anfield coming on Sunday, and then the Champions League Finals against Real Madrid coming on the 28th of May.