KEY POINTS

  • Divock Origi has missed 13 games this season due to muscle issues
  • He has played only 14 competitive games for the Reds
  • Origi played a key role in Liverpool's successful League Cup campaign

Liverpool "Legend" Divock Origi is reportedly set to join Serie A top club AC Milan in the 2022 summer.

Origi's contract with Liverpool is due to expire at the end of the 2021-22 season and he will not be extending his contract with the Reds, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

"AC Milan have already made a proposal to sign Divock Origi on a free transfer. He's not extending the contract with Liverpool, current deal expires in June and AC Milan are pushing to complete the agreement #ACMilan," the journalist wrote in a tweet Thursday. "Club confident - working on the deal as reported yesterday."

Several Premier League clubs are interested in signing Origi, but the Belgian forward is already in advance talks with AC Milan, Italian media outlet Calciomercato reported. However, the International Business Times could not verify it independently.

The report further claimed that AC Milan's technical director, Paolo Maldini, is an admirer of Origi, who scored in Liverpool's 2-1 win at San Siro in the Champions League earlier this season.

Origi has developed an image of being Liverpool's savior during crunch situations. However, injuries have ruined his run with the Merseyside club.

Origi scored the first and fourth goals in Liverpool's famous fixture at Anfield where they overturned a three-goal deficit against Barcelona in the Champions League. Origi went on to score in the Champions League final later that season before netting a late winner in the Merseyside derby the following season.

In the entire 2020-21 season, Origi managed to play only 17 matches for the Reds across all competitions. He has made only 14 appearances in the ongoing season and has not started a single Premier League game. But he had a key role to play in Liverpool's successful League Cup campaign. He scored two goals and made an assist in the three games he played in the competition, including the final.

The 26-year-old forward has already missed 13 matches in the 2021-22 campaign due to muscle issues.

Liverpool striker Divock Origi (right) celebrates his late winning goal against Wolves
Divock Origi now has scored a winner for Liverpool in two consecutive matches. AFP / JUSTIN TALLIS

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has called Origi a "legend" on a number of occasions. The latest one was when the player netted a crucial winner against Wolves last December to hand the Reds three crucial points in the Premier League. "It was clear: when you don't score you just have to keep going and that's what we did. And then Divock Origi, the legend, came and finished it off for us. I love it," Klopp said after the game at Molineux Stadium.

With Liverpool now just a point behind Manchester City in the title race after 29 matches, Origi's 94th-minute winner looks very vital in the Reds' journey so far.

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