Saturday 17 October 2015 16:53, UK
New Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed he tried to sign Divock Origi for Borussia Dortmund and the clubs were locked in a "battle" for the Belgian striker in 2014.
Origi signed for the Reds in a £10m deal from Lille last summer before being immediately loaned back to the club, and was handed his full Premier League debut by Klopp in the 0-0 draw at Tottenham.
Klopp admits he is a huge fan of the 20-year-old and believes they "will have a lot of fun with this player."
"I wanted to take him to Dortmund when Liverpool bought him, but we could not," he said after his first game in charge at White Hart Lane.
"He's a very good player; young, fast and a good technician. At the moment, he is not so full of experience in the game because he hasn't played very often.
"But I like him and I think we will have a lot of fun with this player. We were in the battle to sign him."
Origi impressed in his first Liverpool start, having made just one substitute appearance in the Premier League this term and three more in cup competitions.
The forward began his career at at Lille and scored eight goals in Ligue 1 on loan at his former club last term.