Origi: Our quality means we can maintain form without Sadio
Divock Origi is confident the quality of the attacking players at Liverpool's disposal will ensure they maintain their form, despite the loss of Sadio Mane this month.
The forward will jet off to Gabon following the Reds’ Premier League clash with Sunderland to contest the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Nevertheless, despite Mane’s outstanding opening half of the season, Origi believes the return of Daniel Sturridge and the ever-nearing comeback of Philippe Coutinho will make sure Liverpool’s attacking threat doesn’t diminish.
He told Liverpoolfc.com: “In football, everything can happen. Unfortunately, Sadio has to go and leave us, but we have a very big and strong squad, which is one of our big qualities.
“Whoever plays up front, whatever position, I am sure we can make a very big impact and get the maximum out of every game.
“We are very strong as a group and we’re going to show it in the future, I am sure.”
LFCTV GO: Origi on Mane, Sturridge and 2017
Despite Mane’s absence, competition for places within Liverpool’s favoured front-three system will remain as fiercely contested as ever with Sturridge and later Coutinho coming back into the fold.
The former of those two players has already made an impact since returning to fitness, setting up Mane’s Merseyside derby winner against Everton before striking a first league goal of the season in the following game against Stoke City.
“Daniel is a great person and a great footballer - it’s a pleasure to play with him,” said Origi. “We have to support each other, all of us in each part of the team. All the strikers up front, we try to get the most from ourselves so we can push ourselves. In the end, it’s the manager who makes the decisions but if everybody is in top form, it’s beneficial for the team and that’s very important for the season.
“Daniel is a different type of player [to me], so I can see elements of his game and learn from them. I enjoy playing with him, he is a very intelligent player.
“People sometimes may only talk about his finishing quality, but he has great passing skills too for example. He has already proven his quality and he is a very, very important player for this team.”
On a personal level, Origi will be aiming to maintain a berth in Liverpool’s starting XI in 2017.
Since coming on as a substitute against Sunderland at Anfield on November 26, he has started all but one game and bagged five goals in the process.
He said: “I am always happy to be able to play and I was effective also [since coming into the team], so it was a very good thing for me.
“I still feel I can make steps in my game and in every one, I feel I can add things to my game. I try to be as complete as possible and that’s what the staff [here at Liverpool] are helping me to try to do.
“One of the qualities of our team is that we’re very flexible in all positions. It makes us more unpredictable and I’m happy we have such a system because I enjoy playing in it very much.”