OPINION
Marco Silva revived the career of Oumar Niasse at Hull City, he can do the same with Liverpool’s Divock Origi.
When current Everton boss Marco Silva took over at Hull City in January 2017, one of his first signings would a loan deal for Everton misfit Oumar Niasse, in what was billed to be a particularly strange move for both parties.
Niasse joined Everton in January 2016 for a fee of £13.5million, yet he only got 152 minutes of football between then and the end of the season. The following campaign, then Everton manager Ronald Koeman refused to give the Senegalese striker a squad number, that’s how far down the pecking order he was.
Then came Marco Silva, who brought him to Hull City and gave the 28-year-old a chance. The Portuguese was rewarded with some excellent performances and some important goals in the second half of the 2016/17 season, but it wasn’t enough to keep the club from being relegated.
Last season, Niasse returned to his parent club Everton and scored nine goals in 25 appearances (TransferMarkt). His career is back on track.
Divock Origi needs similar inspiration. Since joining Liverpool from French side Lille in July 2014 for £11.3million, he’s scored just 26 top-flight goals in four full seasons, that’s an average of 6.5 goals per season (TransferMarkt).
This was a player who was once heralded as one of Belgium’s potential superstars but so far in his career, he’s failed to live up to the expectations.
Divock Origi needs Marco Silva and Marco Silva needs Divock Origi. Everton are looking for a striker and Origi is looking for salvation, they are a perfect match at the perfect time. With Origi out of contract at Liverpool next season, his next move could define his career.
He needs to move to Everton and work with Silva and maybe, he can finally become the player he was expected to be.