Liverpool great Jamie Carragher passed his verdict on Divock Origi’s status at Anfield following Jurgen Klopp’s recent comments on the Belgian striker’s importance to the Reds camp.
Origi came off the bench for Liverpool this past weekend and secured a stoppage-time winner for Klopp’s men against Wolves to claim the win for his side who now sit second in the Premier League table.
The 25-year-old has developed into a cult figure for the Anfield faithful with Origi’s super-sub image well-documented for his ability to score crucial goals in high-billed outings.
Jurgen Klopp was lavish in his praise for Origi’s talents on the pitch ahead of the Merseyside outfit taking on Serie A giants AC Milan in the final group stage fixture of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Played-turned-pundit Carragher, an Anfield icon in himself, echoed Klopp while speaking to Sky Sports ( via The Liverpool Echo) with Carragher saying that the former Lille man had established a hero like staus turning out in the Liverpool shirt.
“Divock Origi is a legendary figure at Liverpool but it’s not because everyone thinks he’s a great player, it’s because of the great goals he’s scored.”
“And whenever Origi starts a game, you go into the ground or you’re watching on TV and you think ‘oh Origi’s starting’, but whenever he comes off the bench, you feel completely different.
“You can see the impact he makes, I mean look at the goals [when coming on as a sub] it’s practically the same [as when starting]. Minutes per goal is the big standout.
“His stats are so much better coming on as a sub.”
“We look at these when we judge a player and you think of teams like Liverpool that have a front three set in stone, or teams that have a striker like Harry Kane, you think, ‘who can I buy that’s going to be happy being a sub, but can still make an impact when he comes on?’
“I was actually thinking, someone like Divock Origi, whose stats are not great as a starter, he’s never going to trouble the front three in terms of starting, but actually looking at players and judging them from the bench because you know, that’s what you’re buying them for.”
