Liverpool have confirmed the departures of seven players this summer, including Reds hero Divock Origi and goalkeeper Loris Karius.
Origi, who has etched his name into Anfield history with a series of huge goals for the club, is expected to sign for AC Milan upon the expiry of his contract at the end of June.
The Belgium international scored 41 goals in his 175 appearances for the club, with his brace in the dramatic comeback against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals and goal in that year’s final arguably some of the most memorable.
Meanwhile, Karius will have fewer favourable memories of the Champions League after a sloppy performance that led to Liverpool’s 2018 final loss to Real Madrid.
Sheyi Ojo and Ben Woodburn will also depart the Reds this summer when their contracts expire at the end of the month.
In terms of youth players, the club has confirmed the departures of Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Luis Longstaff, and Sean Wilson.
Jurgen Klopp referred to Origi as a Liverpool “legend” back in May.
‘Wherever he goes, he will be completely successful,’ stated Klopp.
‘He is, and will be for me, forever a Liverpool legend, one of the most important players I ever had.
‘That might sound strange with the amount of games he had but it was a pure joy to work together.’
Origi was signed by Brendan Rodgers in 2014 and scored 41 goals for the Reds in 175 games, with his time at Anfield broken up with loan spells at Lille and Wolfsburg.
They will still have Firmino
Finding someone to replace Minamino and Origi may be even more difficult, simply because the job of an occasional starter and frequent replacement is a difficult proposition to sell.
Fortunately for Liverpool, it appears like they already have the right guy for the job.
Origi was the leading league substitute scorer this season, with goals against Everton, West Ham, and (most importantly) Wolves.
However, it was Roberto Firmino who made the greatest direct contributions, with two goals and two assists. He didn’t stop there, though, scoring from the bench in Champions League victories over Porto (where he had a brace) and Inter Milan, as well as the FA Cup victory over Shrewsbury Town.
Firmino has had few equals in this way, despite not being as productive as a sub throughout his whole stint in England.
Only nine players in the Premier League have scored or assisted more regularly off the bench since the start of the 2015/16 season, and none of those who have – a group that includes Mohamed Salah – can equal Firmino’s total of substitute appearances or minutes.