Since returning to the Premier League, Divock Origi, a forward for Nottingham Forest, has not received many opportunities.
Divock Origi, a forward for Nottingham Forest, joined the team during the summer transfer window, but he hasn’t established himself as a regular starter in Steve Cooper’s lineup. Sunday People journalist Neil Moxley has given GIVEMESPORT an inside update on whether Origi will get a chance soon.
The Premier League season has started poorly for Forest, and Origi hasn’t had much of a chance to show his abilities.
Origi may be getting impatient with his limited playing time.
During the summer transfer window, Origi came to Nottingham on a season-long loan as Cooper sought to bolster his offensive line. Nevertheless, he has only played 62 minutes in England’s top flight this season and has yet to start a Premier League match since his return, according to FBref.
Cooper has had to get used to sitting on the bench because he has always preferred players like Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi in attack over Origi. Origi was primarily used as a backup at Liverpool, entering games late as the Reds attempted to find a winner, so he is accustomed to this role.
Reports in Italy have now suggested that AC Milan are concerned about Origi’s lack of minutes, as they were hoping the Premier League club were going to purchase him at the end of his loan deal. As it stands, you’d imagine that Cooper and his recruitment team aren’t considering signing Origi permanently, as he’s seemingly behind Awoniyi and Wood in the pecking order.
The Tricky Trees haven’t won in their last five games, so Cooper might be thinking about reshuffling his starting XI a little in order to find a formula to turn their form around. Whether this will benefit Origi remains to be seen, but he’s proved during his time at Liverpool that he’s capable of finding the back of the net in important moments.
Despite Forest’s poor results of late, Cooper insisted after their 2-2 draw with strugglers Luton Town that they played their best football since their return to the Premier League, per MailOnline. The supporters at the City Ground might not have been best pleased with their manager’s comments, considering they failed to beat one of the favourites to be relegated this season.
Neil Moxley update at the City Ground
Realistically, Cooper will need to make changes as it’s simply not working for him this season. The English manager did an impressive job to bed in plenty of new signings and steer Forest away from the relegation zone last term, but improvements are needed in order to avoid dropping down to the Championship.
Moxley has suggested that Origi should be busting a gut to play in this Forest side considering his lack of game time in Italy and with Liverpool. The journalist adds that he does expect Cooper to give him a run of games in the near future. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Moxley said…
Per TEAMtalk, Forest are hoping to sign Rangers defender Borna Barisic when the January transfer window opens for business. The Croatian is out of contract next summer, but the Premier League side are hoping to secure his signature at a bargain price if Rangers are unable to tie him down to a new deal.
Reinforcements are likely to be necessary considering Forest’s poor start to the season, and the clubs around them will be hoping to strengthen too, so Cooper’s side won’t want to be left behind.
