Divock Origi looks set to leave Anfield at the end of the season, but former teammate Jose Enrique believes he is good enough to stay in the Premier League, although the lure of Italy could decide otherwise.
Firmly established as a cult hero with Liverpool supporters, Origi has never been able to hold down a regular starting birth in the first XI across his eight years at the Merseyside club, but has nevertheless played a key role in a string of important matches down the years, scoring vital goals and can even boast of scoring the clinching goal in a Champions League final to earn the Reds their sixth European Cup.
But with his contract set to expire in the summer, the Belgian international appears to be on his way out of Anfield, with AC Milan believed to be his most likely destination, not that he would need to leave the Premier League if he didn't want to, according to ex-Red Enrique.
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Speaking to Lord Ping, he said: "Origi is good enough to stay in the Premier League and he's playing for one of the best teams in the world. He's not starting and he's not been playing too much this season, so a team like AC Milan and Inter Milan looks like where he could be heading. I can’t see him playing anywhere in the Premier League but I think he is good enough.
"I think if I was him and you have teams like AC Milan, Inter Milan and top teams like that interested, I would rather go and play in a team where he's a ‘hero’ as Liverpool call him the legend himself because he always comes when the team needs him. Also, they are in Europe and a footballer's career is short, so maybe that’s the best thing to do.
“He could go to Newcastle because they have a lot of money to spend and they'll want to bring new players, but I would not go to one of Liverpool’s rivals because I think his legacy at Liverpool is amazing, they should make a statue of him for what he's done and what he's won.”
Enrique also had some slightly less complimentary thoughts to share on Liverpool's neighbours and old rivals Everton, as they battle to keep their Premier League status intact.
He added: "Obviously with the players they have, you’d think they would stay up, but they've not been performing well. You can see how much money they’ve spent on players and you can compare how many clubs are ahead of them and doing better than them with the players that they've spent on. I do hope they get relegated, it would be nice to see them in the Championship - maybe just for a season because then we'll miss the Merseyside derby and I believe it's one of the best derbies to see in the UK.
“It used to be like Newcastle vs Sunderland, obviously you want to beat Sunderland to relegate them when I was there, but at the same time you need that kind of derby because they're special but for a season or two, relegation would be nice!”
