Former Premier League manager Alex McLeish has insisted that Liverpool outcast Divock Origi has the potential to be a hit at West Ham.
This comes as reports link the Hammers with a move for the 26-year-old Belgian as David Moyes looks to add a striker to the ranks at the London Stadium.
Origi has struggled for regular game time on Merseyside and despite often being the hero on the big stage, could be allowed to leave this summer.
Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish claimed that the enigmatic forward has the potential to thrive in east London.
You see that players that don’t quite make the level at certain clubs. I thought Origi might do a bit more damage at Liverpool than he has done. We had the experience of him in the national game when Scotland played Belgium. I think he’s capable if he gets regular game time. That’s what happens to a lot of players. When they don’t get regular game time, you can see a player going through his career and not really fulfilling it the way that they would have probably wanted to had they been getting regular football. Michail Antonio has been sensational. The biggest problem for guys like Origi is if your teammates are ahead of you and the team are scoring goals galore, how do you get that chance? You do tend to become like an option, rather than a first-team choice. He has to kind of prove that if he gets that move to West Ham but he can be sensational, too.
Last season was the 29-cap star’s lowest in terms of goal contributions since arriving on Merseyside, scoring just once and adding two assists in 17 appearances.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
Origi has recently seen a price cut from £20million to £15million and for that money can be regarded as somewhat of a no-risk transfer.
Despite often being little more than an option from the bench at Anfield, the Belgian forward has scored 35 goals in a trophy-laden Liverpool career – including the second in a 2-0 UEFA Champions League final victory over Tottenham.
Seemingly way out of favour on Merseyside, the Irons may be confident of striking a deal for around the player’s perceived £10.8million market value (Transfermarkt).
