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Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga campaign starts a week from today when Red Bull Leipzig come to the Westfalenstadion. The club have been active in the transfer window, but there is still one glaring need in the squad.
Lucien Favre needs a striker to lead his side, and he may now be close to acquiring one.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Dortmund are interested in signing Divock Origi from Liverpool.
Divock Origi is being pursued by Borussia Dortmund as Liverpool stand firm on their £27million valuation.
The Belgium international, who has two years to run on his contract, is expected to leave Anfield before the European transfer window shuts on August 31. The ECHO understands that the Bundesliga outfit have registered their interest but have yet to table an offer for the 23-year-old frontman.
James Pearce and the Echo are reliable sources for news on Liverpool, so this is one transfer rumor that could have legs.
Origi would be an interesting buy for Dortmund. The Belgian striker joined Liverpool from Lille in 2014, but was immediately loaned back to the French club. From 2015-2017 he was a contributing member to Jurgen Klopp’s senior team. In that time he managed 12 goals in 50 Premier League appearances.
He spent last season on loan at Wolfsburg where he played 31 matches and scored 6 goals.
Those aren’t mind-blowing numbers, but Origi is also just 23-years-old. He can still improve as a footballer, but that price seems awfully steep. Would it really be wise to spend around 30 million on a player who only bagged 6 goals in a full Bundesliga campaign last year? Are there really no proven Bundesliga goal scorers available for a similar price?
Origi had previously been linked with Premier League clubs like Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but the transfer window has closed in England so they are now out of the picture.
A mid-table club in the Premier League seems to be closer to his level than Dortmund are. BVB want to compete with the best in the Champions League and the Bundesliga. Similar goal-scoring returns won’t cut it if they do end up signing Origi.