Wolfsburg striker Divock Origi still planning Liverpool return next summer

Wolsfburg loanee Divock Origi is still planning a long-term future with parent club Liverpool and has suggested that expectations were perhaps a little too high during his initial two-year spell in the Premier League.

Origi departed for the Bundesliga on transfer deadline day in August on a season-long loan deal believed to have cost £6m ($7.9m), after making just one brief cameo outing under Jurgen Klopp during the early weeks of the 2017-18 campaign.

While Wolfsburg are also said to be paying his wages in full, the agreement is not believed to include any permanent option to buy the player next summer – an obvious hint that Liverpool have yet to give up on Origi.

The 22-year-old originally arrived at Anfield from Lille for a £10m fee in July 2014 after playing in every game during Belgium's run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, and was subsequently loaned back to the Ligue 1 outfit for another full season.

He went onto score 21 goals in 77 total appearances for the Reds after joining properly in the summer of 2015, but has certainly yet to fulfil his full potential.

"You can't expect for a youngster to perform consistently," Origi told Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws during preparations for 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus, per the Liverpool Echo.

"It went with ups and with downs. I scored 21 goals in 2 years. Not bad. I've learned a lot at Liverpool. It's still my plan to return after this season. But now I'm focusing on Wolfsburg."

More than 20 clubs from across the Premier League and Europe were supposedly interested in signing Origi before he opted for Wolfsburg. Sporting director Olaf Rebbe has since suggested that Klopp's experience of the Bundesliga is likely to have played a role in helping Die Wolfe to see off late competition from the likes of Rafael Benitez's Newcastle United.

Origi quickly declared an affinity for the German top-flight, although his time at Volkswagen Arena has already been disrupted by Wolfsburg's decision to replace former manager and Arsenal academy chief Andries Jonker with Martin Schmidt.

He started all three available matches under Jonker and both of Schmidt's first two games at the helm, notching his only goal to date during a 1-1 home draw with Werder Bremen on 19 September.

Origi, who can reportedly be recalled in January, will be eager to boost that scoring output throughout the remainder of the year as he looks to prove to Klopp that he can compete with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge, Dominic Solanke and Danny Ings for a central role in Liverpool's front three next term.