Liverpool sanction five loan deals on deadline day as Virgil van Dijk hope ends

Liverpool may only have made one signing on deadline day in the transfer window, but that has not deterred them from loaning out a host of first team and youth players on the final day of trading in the summer. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has arrived for £35m from Arsenal and though Virgil van Dijk will not follow that has not ended the club's activity.

Divock Origi has joined Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on a season-long loan after falling down the pecking order at Anfield. The Belgium international has only played nine minutes in the Premier League this season and upon the arrival of Dominic Solanke from Chelsea the 22-year-old has opted to move in the search of regular first team football ahead of the World Cup.

"I am excited to join Wolfsburg on loan for the season and am looking forward to the challenge of playing in the Bundesliga, a league that I have always regarded as one of the best in the world," Origi told Wolfsburg's official website. "Once it became apparent that Liverpool would allow me to leave on loan it was clear in my mind that Wolfsburg would be the best option for me.

"I was really impressed with what the club had to say with regards to their ambitions for this season and can't wait to get started. I am looking forward to what I hope will be a big season for the club and will give everything to try and help the team be as successful as possible on the pitch."

Origi is joined out of the Liverpool exit door by four youngsters who Jurgen Klopp has opted to give more experience around Europe and the lower echelons of the Football League. Among them is Brazilian Allan Rodrigues, who will spend time away from Merseyside for the third straight campaign after joining Apollon Limassol.

The 20-year-old has had spells at SJK, Sint-Truiden and last term at Hertha Berlin but will move to Cyprus for the rest of the 2017-18 season where he could come up against Everton in the Europa League, with Ronald Koeman's men drawn against Allan's new club in the group stage of the competition.

Ryan Kent was set to be involved in the Liverpool first team this term after featuring heavily in pre-season however, having signed a new contract earlier this month, will go on loan to Freiburg where he could come against team-mate Origi in the German top flight. The 20-year-old is highly regarded by manager Jurgen Klopp and made his Reds debut in the FA Cup last term, but his footballing education will continue away from England.

Finally, midfielder Jordan Williams and forward Toni Gomes have moved to clubs in closer quarters in the Football League. Eighteen-year-old Gomes has moved to newly-promoted Forest Green Rovers on a season-long loan two years on from joining the Liverpool youth academy.

"I'm so happy to be here," he told the League Two club's official website. "I'm enjoying it now in this moment and I'm looking forwards to making my debut – I can't wait. I really enjoyed my first training session today – they play very good football, I've watched YouTube highlights and they love to play and to have the ball and that's good for me. I want to keep playing, keep learning, like I've been doing in the Academy at Liverpool."

Williams meanwhile will spend the first half of the campaign at Rochdale. The 21-year-old has made one senior appearance for Liverpool since joining them in 2009 but is set for a third loan spell of his career.

"I'm really excited that I've got the loan deal over the line and I'm looking forward to getting going," he told the club's official website. "I played with Joe Rafferty a few times when he was at the Liverpool Academy and I've spoken to him about coming to Rochdale. Joe loves it here and he's told me that it's a great club to play for and that the lads are brilliant."

The raft of exits however will not be offset by the £75m arrival of Van Dijk, who despite handing in a transfer request is set to remain at Southampton, according to Metro. No bids have been submitted for the Netherlands international and he will stay at St Mary's in the hope of being reintegrated in Mauricio Pellegrino's first team.