West Ham United are one of several Premier League clubs that are tracking the uncertain future of AC Milan striker Divock Origi.
What’s the latest on Origi to AC Milan?
According to Calciomercato.it, the Hammers, alongside Leeds United, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, and Everton are also interested in the out-of-favour forward.
The report details that Galatasaray is also monitoring the situation but the 27-year-old, who spent eight years at Liverpool, would certainly prefer a return to the Premier League.
Should West Ham sign Origi?
The former Lille prodigy signed for the Reds in 2014 for £10m but during this time he had a couple of loan spells and failed to ever nail down a regular starting spot due to the level of the squad in Merseyside.
However, the Belgian still managed to engrain himself into Liverpool history with a host of memorable and season-defining moments.
In December 2018, the 32-cap international netted his first goal of the season – a 96th-minute winner against Everton after a calamitous Jordan Pickford error.
The end of that campaign was by far his most rewarding and memorable at Anfield. The Reds suffered a demoralizing 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Catalan giants Barcelona.
Stalwarts Roberto Firmino and Mohammed Salah were unable to play the return leg and Origi was drafted in. The frontman netted a brace to secure an extraordinary victory before he also scored in the final against Tottenham Hotspur to underline his status in Liverpool folklore.
His former manager Jurgen Klopp described him as an “outstanding player” and a “Liverpool legend” ahead of his move to Italy.
With increased opportunity and a wealth of experience now behind him, many expected his transfer to the Rossoneri to reignite his career with some consistency.
But, the £7m-rated “monster” – as also once hailed by Klopp – has had a hugely disappointing season and has been unable to replicate his hero status at his new club. In 20 Serie A appearances, he also only scored twice and has recorded the 25th-lowest rating (6.35) of the Milan squad. He has been unable to displace 36-year-old Olivier Giroud in an injury-ravaged campaign.
His inconsistency and the fact he’s Milan’s fourth-highest weekly earner led journalist Alvise Cagnazzo to describe the attacker as ‘Serie A’s worst signing of the season.’
The inability to nail down a regular starting spot at his last two clubs, the lack of goals, and his lucrative wages mean that the East London outfit should avoid the temptation to bring Origi back to England.
David Moyes currently has a far more reliable asset in Danny Ings, who ranks in the top 29% for non-penalty goals among his positional peers across Europe’s top-five divisions, to lead the line, whilst the former Wolfsburg loanee dismally resides in the top 67% for the same metric.
In their search for a consistent and trustworthy goalscorer, West Ham should end any immediate interest in Origi and look elsewhere, if not from within Rush Green.