According to an exclusive report from The Express, Jurgen Klopp is stepping up his interest in Lille forward Victor Osimhen after ordering detailed scouting reports on the Ligue 1 star.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the 8-cap Nigeria international – who has four goals for his country – has been on fire for Lille in his first season with the French side, smashing in 13 goals and grabbing four assists across all competitions.
Osimhen only arrived at Lille back in the summer, following a 2018/19 campaign in which he scored 20 goals and recorded four assists in 36 games for Belgian side Charleroi.
The 21-year-old is the third-highest scorer in France’s top-flight this term behind Wissam Ben Yedder and Kylian Mbappe, and certainly seems to be one of Europe’s brightest young attackers if his form over the last 18 months is anything to go by.
May not get much game time with Divock Origi around
If Osimhen did complete a move to Anfield, one thing that may potentially be problematic is the amount of game time that the Nigerian would be afforded.
You only need to look at how little action Divock Origi is currently getting to reinforce this point.
The Belgium international has scored a number of massive goals for the Reds, including two Champions League semi-final strikes against Barcelona and one in the final itself, but despite that, Klopp has only handed his No.27 four Premier League starts and one Champions League start, recording just 518 minutes in total across both competitions.
In that case, Osimhen may wonder where his game-time will come from if Origi is also struggling to feature regularly.
Of course, it would be difficult for most forwards to feature ahead of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi, but if any of those three pick up an injury or suspension, Origi is surely next in the pecking order to take their place.
It is for this one reason – Origi’s mere presence at Anfield – that the 13-goal forward might struggle to see a lot of action.
In other news, take a look at Virgil van Dijk’s hilarious gesture following the 4-0 win over Leicester…