Barcelona Considering Bid For Liverpool's Champions League Hero Amid Mo Salah Interest: Report

FC Barcelona, who are chasing Liverpool FC superstar Mohamed Salah, are reportedly also interested in signing another Reds forward.

Having started the 2021-22 campaign poorly, Barcelona are placed ninth in the La Liga table and are looking for solutions despite their ongoing financial issues. The Catalans are considering a bid for Salah’s Liverpool teammate Divock Origi, reported Spanish publication SPORT.

Following the departures of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, Barcelona are desperate to strengthen their attack and are looking to secure players with expiring contracts for cheap deals, according to soccer website Teamtalk.

In the summer of 2021, Barcelona wanted to land Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum on a free transfer. A deal was believed to have been on the table before Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) swooped in to secure the Dutchman’s services. However, later in the summer window, Barcelona did sign Sergio Aguero for free from Manchester City but the Argentinean forward is yet to make his Barca debut due to a calf issue.

Origi, who has fallen in Jurgen Klopp’s pecking order at Liverpool, especially after the arrival of Diogo Jota last year, has just one year left on his current contract. In the 2021-22 campaign, Origi has made four appearances for Liverpool, across all competition but that includes only two minutes in the Premier League.

The Belgian forward started Liverpool’s Champions League match against AC Milan, where he provided an assist in his side’s 3-2 victory. Origi also featured in Liverpool’s starting line-up for their League Cup clash with Norwich. The 26-year-old forward played the full 90 minutes as he scored a goal and provided an assist.

Origi joined Genk’s youth academy in 2001. After spending nine years there, the Belgian forward was signed by French club Lille. He rose through the ranks at Lille before making his senior debut with the Ligue 1 side. He netted 16 goals in 89 competitive appearances for Lille before moving to Liverpool ahead of the 2015-16 season.

Origi was a vital cog of the Liverpool side that won four trophies over the last few years, including the Champions League and Premier League. In fact, the player scored Liverpool's second goal in their 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid in 2019.