Simon Mignolet admits he 'hadn't heard of' Liverpool and Belgium striker Divock Origi

Club and country team-mate was an unknown before World Cup

Tom Sheen
Wednesday 20 August 2014 08:03 EDT
Comments
Despite his inexperience at club and international level, Divock Origi is winning admirers for his performances in Brazil
Despite his inexperience at club and international level, Divock Origi is winning admirers for his performances in Brazil (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has admitted he had never heard of Belgium striker Divock Origi before he was called into Marc Wilmots' World Cup squad.

Brendan Rodgers spent £10m earlier this summer to bring the 19-year-old to Anfield before sending him back on loan to Lille for the whole of the 2014-15 season.

Origi has started just 14 Ligue 1 matches in his young career and scored five goals last season; though he has already scored one in two matches so far this year.

The teenager also scored an 88th-minute winner for Belgium in the World Cup group match against Russia, allowing Wilmots' squad to reach the knock-out stages.

But after seeing the striker up close in the World Cup, Mignolet is excited about what his future will bring.

"He is a very exciting player and a huge prospect, and he will have one more year with Lille," the goalkeeper told the club website.

"I'm sure that after that he'll play very well for Liverpool. He's got a huge future ahead of him. I wish him all the best this season and hopefully we'll see him soon.

"When we arrived with the Belgium squad, nobody had really heard about him to be honest. He played at Lille but had never been called up for the full squad, just the U21s.

Mignolet says Origi will be a star in the future
Mignolet says Origi will be a star in the future (GETTY IMAGES)

"Because Christian Benteke was unfortunately injured, we needed a striker - he came in and from the first day in training he showed his ability. In the games, he showed what he was all about."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in