Danny Ings is almost certain to be if not the first, one of the first Liverpool signings this Summer. Now before everyone gets wild, please let it be known that Danny Ings will be at the very least Liverpool’s third choice striker and although he won’t exactly be a free signing, as a third choice striker and quite possibly Liverpool’s fourth choice striker, he will be a solid buy that will allow Liverpool to still spend whatever war chest they have on an actual first choice striker when John Henry opens up his chequebook.
The key here is the word striker, because what’s clear to anyone that watches football even as a passing hobby, is that Liverpool desperately need strikers. This summer will see the likes of Lambert, Borini and Balotelli all moved on after a lacklustre season with Liverpool and although Origi is set to finally join his parent club, there is still at least room for Ings and that one elusive marquee big name signing upfront.
When Liverpool sold Suarez, there was still plenty of time to find a “replacement”. Liverpool did not do that whole finding thing very well and the “replacement” never really eventuated leaving Brendan Rodgers with more than a handful of headaches and very little in the way of relief once Sturridge broke down for the first time while on International duty.
Liverpool can not make the same mistake again, a replacement must be found for Suarez and indeed Daniel Sturridge as well. Having a team that lacks the clinical finishes required to breakdown stubborn parked buses, will only lead to further turmoil for the club and although Danny Ings is not the replacement for either Suarez or Sturridge, what he does though, is allow the club to pursue the actual replacement without having to worry about the back up roles.
While he stands at a respectable 1.78m tall, Danny Ings is unlikely to trouble many centreback pairings in the air, but what he is good at is dribbling and for the most part, actually scoring. With 10 League Goals and 4 Assists in 29 appearances for Burnley FC, Ings is their highest scorer and he also, quite worryingly, stopped scoring for the last 10 games before finally netting one to defeat Hull City on the weekend. That 10 game drought, is a worry and seeing that Burnley rely so heavily on Ings to produce goals, it is little wonder that they are headed back down to the Championship after only managing to score 2 goals as a team in that same 10 game period.
Now, rest assured, there is no one and I mean no one, that thinks Ings is the hero that Liverpool are desperately searching for, but, you could do worse (see Liverpool’s current campaign!) than an Ings type of player in your rotation. So while it may not be entirely a good idea to pack our collective pitchforks away just yet, this signing in and of itself, is nothing to get too upset about. Of course if we head into next season with just Ings and Origi as our only recognised strikers while Sturridge recovers from his latest injury, I will lead the charge with the rustiest pitchfork I have at my disposal.
