Newcastle United want Liverpool striker Divock Origi, according to reports. The Belgian might not be a cheap signing, however.
This comes from the Telegraph. They claim Newcastle United have eyes on Liverpool striker Divock Origi as they look to improve this month.
The Magpies will have wanted to sign players anyway this month but an injury to Callum Wilson makes signing a striker an immediate concern. In Origi, Newcastle could find a Premier League-ready goalscorer who might be undervalued.
After all, Origi is a much better player than he looks. His minutes-per-goal ratio is actually very good and offers a far better evaluation of his quality than goals per game. For one, the Belgian often gets thrown on for the final few minutes of games.
Liverpool do recognise that, to be fair to them. Jurgen Klopp says Origi is ‘one of the best finishers’ he’s ever seen. Praise doesn’t come much higher than that.
But for several reasons – from style, to competition – Origi doesn’t play as often as he should. Newcastle may take advantage of that.
There is another consideration, however. Liverpool are incredibly short upfront right now, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane both at AFCON. Letting Origi go in January does feel a little insane.
And for that reason, it might still take a fortune before Liverpool sell. It makes the £7m price mention in the article seem a little silly, in truth. The Reds, surely, won’t sell for as little as that.
Divock Origi could leave Liverpool
Funnily enough, Newcastle’s other reported target here is Dominic Solanke. Liverpool sold the striker to Bournemouth for £17m two years ago as he wasn’t getting games.
This season, though, Solanke has 18 goals in the Championship and may even move for more than that £17m fee. If Liverpool have a sell-on clause, there may be profit either way. We can’t find evidence of one, however.
Certainly one for Liverpool fans to keep an eye on, then. Either way, it appears Newcastle will line-up with an ex-Red.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
