The 19-year-old Belgian has impressed for Lille as he continues to gain experience in France before joining the Reds next year

Liverpool-bound striker Divock Origi could become “a truly great player” for the Reds, believes Lille defender Simon Kjaer.

Belgium international Origi was signed by Brendan Rodgers over the summer and immediately loaned back to the Ligue 1 club for the season.

The 19-year-old has scored five goals in 14 appearances for Lille so far in 2014-15 and Kjaer argues that his young team-mate has no real weakness.

“He could be a truly great player for Liverpool,” the Dane told the Daily Mirror. “He has got great potential and could become one of the best players in his position.

“Origi is one of the greatest talents I have ever played with in Italy, Germany or France. I have no doubt about his potential.

“He’s still very young and it was a clever move to let him mature one more season with Lille but he’s got the complete package – physically, technically and great speed.

“A special thing about him is that he has no real weak spots which he needs to work on. Instead he can just work on the things he’s already good at. That’s a huge advantage.

“He’s actually pretty versatile. We can use him on both sides and up front as well. Now I have played with Origi for a year and he really seems to have a good mentality. He is a dedicated pro at his young age.”

With Mario Balotelli struggling for form since his €20 million switch from AC Milan, Liverpool have been rumoured to be pursuing an early recall to Anfield for Origi, though Lille coach Rene Girard is adamant that no such approach has been made and expects to keep the youngster until the summer.

Brendan Rodgers made seven changes for this side’s trip to Spain, but the winger is confident that the Reds will qualify from Group B despite their defeat at the Bernabeu

Gareth Bale has expressed surprise at Liverpool’s heavily rotated line-up against Real Madrid but commended their performance in the 1-0 loss.

Brendan Rodgers made seven changes from the side who lost 1-0 to Newcastle on Sunday, with the manager seemingly casting one eye on the weekend clash against Premier League leaders Chelsea.

The selection was met with criticism from some quarters, namely Gary Lineker, but Bale was impressed by Liverpool’s display and backed the faltering club to improve their form sooner rather than later.

“I was surprised by how many changes [they made],” Bale told ITV. “But they worked hard, they gave a good account of themselves.

“It’s always difficult coming to the Bernabeu, playing against us. We’re always confident at our home ground, but they played well.

“Under Brendan Rodgers they’re playing some great football, they’re obviously going through a bit of a sticky patch but that happens to teams and I think they’ll come out of it stronger and back to their best.”

The result leaves Liverpool facing a fight to reach the last 16 of the Champions League as they trail Basel by three points with two games to play, but Bale is confident they will qualify.

He continued: “Yeah, I fully expect Liverpool [to qualify], it’s a massive club, they play difficult games week in, week out and they want to be in the top competitions.

“I’m sure they’ll be raring to, ready to win both the games and give a fight to qualify with us.”

The former England striker questioned the decision to make seven changes and leave star names on the bench for Tuesday’s trip to the Santiago Bernabeu

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has brushed aside criticism of his team selection against Real Madrid by Gary Lineker.

Former England striker Lineker was among those to express surprise at the line-up chosen by Rodgers for Tuesday’s meeting with the European champions in Group B of the Champions League.

Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson were left on the bench as Rodgers made seven changes to the team beaten 1-0 by Newcastle, seemingly with one eye on the clash against Chelsea.
 

Rodgers has left out Henderson, Sterling, Balotelli, Gerrard and Coutinho at Real Madrid. He has, though, thrown in a white towel.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 4, 2014

Selecting a weakened side in Europe’s premier competition, especially against Real Madrid, is unbefitting of a club of Liverpool’s stature.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 4, 2014

If I were one of Liverpool’s star players, I’d be choked to be left out of a game at the Bernabeu against the European Champions.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 4, 2014

“Gary is a figure I respect and he was a top player but he has never been a manager, so probably doesn’t truly understand what you are up against in terms of planning forward that way,” Rodgers told reporters.

“We were certainly far from throwing it away. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in every game since the Spanish Super Cup final [and didn’t score]. That shows you how hard we defended and how hard we worked.

“Right to the very end I think my players put in a performance that showed their passion, their commitment and their quality. That would be my answer. I am not bothered about the criticism.”

Lineker did post a further tweet after the match following Rodgers’ post-match comments explaining his team selection.
 

Rodgers intimating that many of his players were dropped for being awful at Newcastle rather than being rested. If that’s true, fair enough.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 4, 2014