OPINION
Newcastle United must swiftly swoop for Liverpool attacker Divock Origi as the versatile player could be a success at St James Park under Rafa Benitez.
The Liverpool Echo previously reported that pre-season was set to be a make or break period for the 23-year-old at Anfield with Jurgen Klopp keen to assess him following the player’s loan spell at Wolfsburg last season.
However even though the Reds may have only played two pre-season friendlies so far, Origi is already showing all the signs that he’s wasting his chance to impress Klopp.
The 23-year-old’s most memorable moments against Chester during the Reds’ 7-0 victory over them was him constantly causing the offside flag to be raised.
The attacker’s case wasn’t helped by the fact he was completely upstaged by Daniel Sturridge in that game who seemed to roll back the years in order to look like a strong and healthy attacker capable of firing the Reds to glory.
Origi followed up his lacklustre display against Chester with an uninspiring performance against Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday.
The Reds may have beaten the National League side 3-2 but it wasn’t thanks to Origi who consistently made the wrong decisions when the ball was at his feet.
The 23-year-old forward, who can also feature on either winger, has all the tools to be a force in the Premier League but he needs a manager who is going to micro-manage him to success.
With Klopp having several attackers to concern himself with, Origi won’t get that special attention at Anfield nor will he be afforded opportunities to feature in the first-team based on his recent pre-season displays.
If signed by the Magpies, the 23-year-old’s dazzling dribbling ability and desire to rack up the goals could be harnessed by Benitez in order to make him the complete player.
The Magpies are desperately in need of improving their attacking options after the side scored only 39 games in 38 league games last season and Origi could solve their issues.
The 23-year-old has previously scored 12 goals in 51 Premier League appearances but it’s clear he could score so many more goals if a manager helped him in regards to his decision making.
Given that Klopp has just witnessed two disappointing displays by Origi, the Magpies should swoop now as the German manager will be more willing to strike a reasonable deal to get the 23-year-old out the door at Anfield.
This means the Magpies must swiftly swoop for the Premier League attacker who is currently wasting his chance to impress in pre-season.
