Rumour Mongering: Divock Origi to Seek January Transfer

After a disappointing performance against Midtjylland, a
mid-season return to Belgium has been proposed.

Tuesday night’s Champions
League tie against FC Midtjylland saw a number of Liverpool’s backup players given the chance in
a heavily rotated side, and for a few it seems clear the night was
a success.

For Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri in particular, Tuesday night
made a strong case for more minutes moving forward. In the case of
Divock Origi, on the other hand, it was another
unmemorable outing.

After playing a key role off the bench in 2019-20, it has now
been more than a year of struggle for the 25-year-old, and
following Tuesday’s disappointing performance there are fresh
departure rumours.

In his native Belgium, Voetbal 24 today claim that Origi no longer
sees a place for himself at Anfield following the summer arrival of
Jota and is worried about his place with the National Team moving
forward.

As such, they believe that the striker will push for a return to
his homeland as he hopes to join a Jupiler Pro League side in
January, with Club Brugge mentioned as a possibility by name—but
only on loan.

Given Liverpool’s reluctance to send any of their fringe
players—including Origi, who was linked with a potential
departure—out on loan over the summer makes it difficult to take
this rumour too seriously.

With Jota’s arrival, Shaqiri playing well when given chances
this year, and Harvey Elliott expected to have a first team role
next season, it seems clear Origi’s long-term chances will be
limited at Liverpool.

However, as his contract runs through 2024, it’s difficult to
imagine the club agreeing a January loan. If Brugge or any other
Belgian side want him, they likely need to be able to do a
permanent deal.