Tuesday, 5th August, 2014



Divock Origi has expressed his surprise at the amount of homework Liverpool had carried out on him prior to signing him from Lille this summer.

The Reds recently completed the capture of the 19-year-old Belgian striker, agreeing to loan him back to Lille for the upcoming campaign as part of the deal.



However, Origi claims Liverpool would have liked to have been able to call upon his talents this term, with skipper Steven Gerrard expressing regret he was heading back to France after putting pen to paper.

"And then I arrived at Liverpool and I was impressed", Origi told L'Equipe, speaking about his whirlwind summer, having taken in the World Cup for Belgium first.

 


"Steven Gerrard said to me that it was a pity that I am not there right away and they are waiting impatiently for me.

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"It is really something….I also saw [Daniel] Sturridge, who was very friendly."

Origi, who scored five goals in 30 Ligue 1 games for Lille last term, was also astonished with the lengths Liverpool had gone to to check on him and for just how long they had been tracking his progress.

"Liverpool followed me for a long time.

"When I arrived at the offices they showed me tapes of me when I was younger than 15!

"Everyone knew me, I could not believe it."

And Liverpool will be keeping a close eye on Origi throughout his year at Lille, with Rodgers having promised to send a scout to France and explaining to the striker just how highly he is rated at Anfield.

"He wants me to be one of the best players in the world", the Belgian added.

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