Liverpool striker Divock Origi is 'close' to signing on the dotted line with AC Milan, Belgian journalist Sven Claes reports.
The lowdown
Origi signed for Liverpool from Ligue 1 side Lille in the summer of 2014 for a fee of £11.4million.
In the summer of 2019, on the back of scoring in both the Champions League semifinal and final, he penned a contract extension.
That deal is due to expire this summer, and while it does contain the option of a one-year extension, that will only be triggered if Origi makes a certain number of appearances.
The Belgian has played 172 games in total for the Reds, netting 40 goals and providing 17 assists.
He's not the only Liverpool player out of contract at the end of the season, with James Milner, Adrian and Loris Karius also potentially set to leave as free agents.
[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-28/" title="Latest Liverpool transfer news!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]
The latest
Origi is on the verge of signing a four-year deal with the Serie A leaders, Claes tweeted on Friday morning.
He did caution it is 'not a done deal yet' because there's 'still paperwork to do', but it certainly looks as if the 26-year-old is bound for the San Siro.
"Confirmed: Divock Origi (26) is close to sign a 4-year contract at AC Milan. Not a done deal yet. Still paperwork to do," shared the journalist on Twitter.
The verdict
Back in December, Jurgen Klopp stressed that he regards Origi as a Liverpool 'legend' following his heroics against Barcelona and Spurs.
But the arrival of Luis Diaz at Anfield in January has appeared to push him further down the pecking order.
Since he returned from injury in the middle of February, he's played only 141 minutes of football for the Reds across all competitions.
His last Premier League appearance came in the dying stages of a 6-0 victory over Leeds on 23 February, and he's missed out on the last four matchday squads.
There's a risk, then, that his looming departure winds up being fairly low key.
In other news, Sky Sports have revealed fresh Liverpool talks.