CaughtOffside looks at the possible alternatives for Brendan Rodgers, rather than £10m Lille forward Divock Origi.
Liverpool look set to complete a deal for young Belgian forward Divock Origi, with reports suggesting that the Reds are set to pay a fee in the region of £10 million for the teenage sensation from Ligue 1 club Lille.
Origi, a modern hybrid forward who can both lead the line and operate from deeper and wider areas, is undoubtedly a fine young talent, but he is not the only teenage striker to be raising eyebrows in Europe.
Here at CaughtOffside, we aren’t totally convinced by Origi’s credentials as the finest young attacker that Liverpool could have moved in for, with these five alternatives possibly ones that Brendan Rodgers should’ve given more serious consideration to.
1) Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven)
Young PSV Eindhoven wide forward Memphis Depay has already made a huge impression on the 2014 FIFA World Cup, picking up a couple of goals for a Netherlands side who dominated a tricky group including Spain and Chile.
The 20 year-old is coming off the back of a fine season with Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven, for whom Depay has already made 60 league appearances and notched up 17 goals despite his tender age.
Depay’s goals record is incomparable with the meagre return from Origi in Ligue 1, despite both players operating in similar areas of the pitch, whilst he would be likely to command a smaller fee than the Belgian.
2) Domenico Berardi (Juventus/Sassuolo)
Young Italian Domenico Berardi had a fine debut season in Serie A with Sassuolo, bagging 16 goals for the club that he helped to both gain promotion to and then survive in the Italian top flight, despite being the tender age of just 19.
Juventus, who co-own the player, turned down the opportunity to buy the second half of his contract from Sassuolo this summer, meaning that Berardi will not be moving to Turin for next season.
This could’ve opened up room for negotiation for a club like Liverpool with Sassuolo, who will be keen to cash in on an asset whose value is peaking, and a Juventus side who didn’t deem Berardi quite ready for the Old Lady just yet.
3) Jean-Paul Boetius (Feyenoord)
Another teenage star of the Eredivisie is Feyenoord’s Jean-Paul Boetius, who has already notched up nearly 50 league appearances for the Rotterdam club by the age of 20.
The quick, tricky winger is the cousin of AC Milan star Urby Emanuelson and has already been given his debut in the Dutch national team by Louis van Gaal, although he missed out on the squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
As with fellow Eredivisie star Memphis Depay, Boetius could well offer better value for money for Liverpool than their prospective Belgian signing.
4) Thorgan Hazard (Chelsea)
It may be a controversial suggestion, but Liverpool could do worse than considering a move for Thorgan Hazard from Premier League rivals Chelsea, where his older brother Eden is the star of the family.
Hazard has spent two seasons on loan with Belgian Jupiler League side Zulte Waregem, slowly emerging as a fine attacking midfield talent with a similar skill-set to his sibling.
With Hazard unlikely to break into the first team at Chelsea in the near future, Rodgers could turn the heads of both player and club with a decent bid.
5) Aleksandar Mitrovic (Anderlecht)
Serbian club Partizan Belgrade are well known through Europe for their ability to nurture young talent and sell it on, with striker Aleksander Mitrovic at Anderlecht being the best of the current crop, along with Benfica winger Lazar Markovic.
The 19 year-old is more of an out-and-out centre forward than Origi, who largely plays out wide for Lille, but his goalscoring record is still hugely impressive both in Serbia and Belgium.
Despite only spending one year with Anderlecht, the Belgians are largely a selling club and a good bid could convince them to part with one of Europe’s finest young strikers.