Club takes steps to sign 26-year-old Liverpool star that hasn't been seen for almost a month

Divock Origi has been sidelined with injury but despite Jurgen Klopp saying it was a minor issue, the Belgian hasn't been spotted for nearly a month amid links with a move to Juventus.

Things seem to have gone slightly awry for Liverpool over the last month. At the start of December, the Reds were being lauded for winning every Champions League group stage game in what was labelled the 'Group of Death.'

They beat Atletico Madrid, Porto and AC Milan twice each to finish on 18 points.

Since then, injury, suspension, COVID-19 and now AFCON have decimated Jurgen Klopp's squad and Liverpool's form has fallen apart as they find themselves 11 points adrift of Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

Divock Origi shone for the Reds against AC Milan in the final game, winning Man of the Match, just three days after he came off the bench against Wolves to win the game in the 94th minute.

The game at the San Siro on the 7th of December was the last we saw of Origi as he picked up an injury that Klopp described to the press as 'a little issue' which has now seen the forward miss 6 games.

Jurgen Klopp's last fitness update offered no insight into the status of the Belgian's injury.

Interestingly, Gazzetta.it reports that Juventus have taken steps to sign him this month as they search for more firepower to bolster a Serie A campaign that has seen them struggle for goals.

They're currently fifth in Italy's top flight, having scored just 19 goals and are 12 points off the title race pace while Inter Milan, Liverpool's Champions League last 16 opponents lead the way and have scored 49 goals in 19 games.

Origi has 5 goals and 2 assists in 393 minutes this season which is very impressive but with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at AFCON this month, Liverpool aren't about to sell one of their most clinical players.

Hopefully, Pep Lijnders can provide an update on Origi and Takumi Minamino's fitness ahead of the EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal when he speaks to the media ahead of Thursday's game.