Latest signings aid Liverpool present and future (ESPN article)

by Dave Usher for ESPN

Despite the disappointment of having to cancel the deal for Loic Remy, Liverpool still managed to bring in two more new faces this week. Centre-back Dejan Lovren could prove to be Liverpool's most important signing of this summer, while according to Brendan Rodgers, Belgian wonderkid Divock Origi could one day "light up world football."

Both are exciting signings in their own right, but whereas one will be expected to make an immediate impact, Kopites will have to wait at least a year before getting a look at the other.

Rodgers was effusive in his praise for Origi, telling the club's official website: "For me, he can be one of the most exciting talents in world football; I genuinely believe that," he said. "He has everything to be world class. He's super fast, has a wonderful touch, he's a good size and is aggressive.

"What I like, and what I have in other players, is that humility to work hard. I've seen enough of him over the course of the last couple of seasons to think this is a kid who, coming into the right environment, can genuinely be world-class."

Admittedly, the Liverpool boss is known for occasionally going a little overboard in talking up his own players -- "the Welsh Xavi" immediately springs to mind -- but even by Rodgers' standards, that was high praise indeed.

The collapse of the Remy deal means the Reds could probably do with Origi right now, but his long-term development won't be harmed by another season playing regular football in France. It does mean that Liverpool still need another forward player, though, preferably one who is interchangeable between the central and wide berths, as Remy would have been.

Origi may still be in his teens but he ousted the more experienced Romelu Lukaku from Belgium's starting lineup during the World Cup. That's no mean feat, as the Chelsea frontman is a player who most teams -- although, strangely, not Chelsea -- would love to have leading their line. If in the long term Origi proves to be better than Lukaku then Liverpool have pulled off a masterstroke with this deal, especially for the fee they landed him for.

Lovren, on the other hand, is very much for the here and now, and is expected to slot straight into the team. Liverpool already possess good centre-backs -- very good ones, actually -- but they don't have a dependable pairing because they lack that commanding presence capable of not only doing his own job to a high standard, but ensuring that others do theirs too.

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