Liverpool Champions League hero tipped for world stardom by Brendan Rodgers made available for free

He was tipped to become a "world class" talent by Brendan Rodgers a decade ago.

Now Divock Origi has been told he can leave Milan on a free transfer. The Belgian striker joined Liverpool when Rodgers was in charge back in 2014, and he was immediately loaned back to Lille for the season before returning to Merseyside. Origi would go on to score in the Reds' Champions League final triumph over Tottenham in 2019 and produced some big moments for Liverpool.

But he struggled to hold down a regular starting spot under Jurgen Klopp and moved on to San Siro following loan spells with Lille once more, and VFL Wolfsburg. The Rossoneri farmed him out to Nottingham Forest in the second half of last season, and are now willing to waive a fee in order to get him off the books amid interest from the Saudi Pro League and MLS.

Whether Rodgers would be interested in a reunion at Celtic Park is doubtful. But what can't be denied was how highly the Irishman rated Origi when he signed him as a 19-year-old from Ligue 1. He reckoned Origi was ready to fill Luis Suarez's boots after just a few months, and could have done without the loan agreement with Lille when injury struck

"There are very few players who can replace Suarez,” Rodgers told the Daily Mail at the time. Actually there are no players who can replace Suarez.

“When you look at the availability of other players during the summer, it was something that was difficult for us. It’s no good now I know but we took a player in Divock Origi who we believe will be world class and we’ll get him in the summer.

“Now he is a top player. He has everything: the speed, the profile and so on and he (could) play (for Liverpool) now.”

When Origi cemented his place in Liverpool folklore with