• Ligue 1

Divock Origi ruled out as Liverpool forward option

ESPN staff
November 27, 2014
Divock Origi signed a five-year contract with Liverpool before being loaned back to Lille © Getty Images
Enlarge

Liverpool will not be able to recall teenage prodigy Divock Origi from his loan at Lille in a bid to solve their current goalscoring problems, the French club has said.

While manager Brendan Rodgers' position appears to be safe for the moment, Liverpool's ambitions of emulating last season's Premier League runners-up spot are fading quickly after a terrible run of form.

Liverpool are languishing in 12th, 12 points behind second-placed Southampton, after a run of three straight league defeats. Wednesday's disappointing Champions League draw against Bulgarian side Ludogorets means Rodgers' men are winless in five matches.

With Mario Balotelli failing to compensate for the summer departure of last season's top-scorer Luis Suarez, Origi, 19, has reportedly been seen as a potential solution to reinforce the Merseyside club's attack.

Origi signed a five-year deal with Liverpool this summer before being loaned back to Lille for the 2014-15 campaign and he will remain in France until the end of the season, according to the Ligue 1 club's manager Rene Girard.

"There's no worries as far as Divock Origi is concerned," Girard said ahead of his team's Europa League encounter with Kuban Krasnodar on Thursday. "He's with us, and he will be until the end of the season, as planned."

Earlier this season, Girard denied reports Origi could move back to Liverpool in January with Balotelli going in the opposite direction.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
ESPN staff Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices