West Ham United given green light to sign Divock Origi amid AC Milan pre-season snub
West Ham must make attacking reinforcements this summer, with the futures of Michail Antonio, Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings currently up in the air.
Young striker Divin Mubama is pushing for more first-team duties next season, but Hammers manager David Moyes needs more faces in to bolster his options in the final third.
And one player that he could turn to is AC Milan forward Divock Origi, whose name has previously ended up in dialogue with the Hammers, as per La Gazzetta dello Sport (10 July).
Now there is a new development to his future at the Serie A club, with manager Stefano Pioli leaving the Belgian out of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, according to Calciomercato (19 July).
“Milan takes a hard line with redundancies, players on sale are no longer considered part of the project,” according to Calciomercato.
The publication noted that Origi, along with Fode Ballo-Toure and Ante Rebic, “will not leave for the United States, where the Rossoneri will play three friendlies against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.”
It’s a real blow for Origi, but a real chance for the player to get a fresh start elsewhere, with a return to the Premier League now a potential option for the 28-year-old.
He does, of course, have previous in England with Liverpool, as well as in the Champions League, with the striker scoring in the 2018/19 final victory against Tottenham Hotspur.
West Ham are looking to challenge in the Premier League and in Europe next season, and they could do a lot worse than having a striker like Origi among their ranks.
In other West Ham news, the winner has been named in the £25million Hammers and Wolves race to seal a first-team signing this summer.