So this rumour is turning real! Apparently. Danny Ings is quite possibly joining us from Burnley for £3m. But the deal may well see him finish the season on loan at Burnley. Ings is young, scores goals and has a low price. The only part of this deal that puzzles me is the loan. We need a striker now if we can get one. From the Echo: FOR SIGNING INGS: Ings can only get better At 22-years-old and an Englishman on the brink of a national team call-up, Ings would fit the profile which Rodgers excels in coaching and developing. Strong, quick and good goalscorer, the striker has been open to improvement through his fledging career, highlighted by his 20 goals in the Championship last season. He would appear to have the raw attributes to succeed in the Premier League – indeed, he has scored seven this season already – and has plenty of time to become a top striker. It makes sense – both on and off the pitch With Ings’ contract running out, this would appear to be the definition of value. The Burnley man has been one of the most talked-up young players this season, along with the likes of Charlie Austin and Saido Berahino, but he would move for a far smaller fee than those two. Ings is one of the best strikers in the league for dribbling past players, with just Alexis Sanchez, Bojan and Sergio Aguero managing more – demonstrating how useful he could be in a quick attack. Keeping him on loan at Turf Moor facilitates a move. With Tottenham, Newcastle and Real Sociedad linked, it would secure him for next season – while also allowing him to play a full Premier League season, having already started in 19 of their 22 games this season. Liverpool need goals The burden on Daniel Sturridge is obvious. Despite the move to 3-4-2-1 yielding better attacking displays, the Reds have been forced to play Raheem Sterling up front for the majority of it. Liverpool may feel they have figured out Sturridge’s injury problems, but there are no guarantees. Sterling has been an admirable deputy, but his long-term future would seem to be in a deeper position. If Sturridge is absent – either rested or sidelined – then Ings would offer a decent alternative, and already has more league goals than Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini combined. He has also played in a front two under Sean Dyche, but can also operate as a lone striker. Sturridge as first-choice, with Ings and Origi as either partners or back-up, is an attractive proposition. AGAINST SIGNING INGS: Liverpool need strikers now A lot of the negativity surrounding the potential deal centres around the make-up of it. Though loaning him back to Burnley would help secure him, it ignores the pressing issue of Liverpool’s quest for Champions League qualification; so, too, that Sturridge is returning from a long-term absence and may take time to play at full capacity. Liverpool would have had to pay a compensation fee in the summer regardless, as he is under 24, so an extra few million now would be a worthwhile investment if he could offer another option off the bench. Is he really good enough? Ings has seven goals this season – one from the penalty spot – but he has spent just six months in the top tier, and not at a club chasing honours. Liverpool need a player who will put away chances. With just 38% shooting accuracy, he hits the target less than Balotelli (55%) and Lambert (45%) - it is also the same accuracy as Borini. His 20 goals last season were in the Championship; before that, his best season came at Bournemouth, in League One, with eight goals. He hasn’t done it regularly enough, or long enough, to be considered a viable option The element of unknown – and potential over finished article Manchester City spend nearly £30m on Wilfried Bony, while Chelsea have Didier Drogba and Loic Remy in reserve. Even Manchester United usually have one of Robin van Persie or Radamel Falcao on the bench. Granted, such transfers are not Liverpool’s style – nor, necessarily, should it be – but bringing in a player with just six months of Premier League experience, who hasn’t played in a team like Liverpool’s, brings uncertainty. At 22, Ings would want to play football regularly, particularly as he as on the cusp of the England squad following brilliant showings for the Under-21s. How he would fit into a Liverpool side when the squad is fully fit, be that in a 3-4-2-1, 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, would be a head-scratcher for the Reds boss. ---------------------------------- So what do you think? Is he the striker we need? (Sturridge, Ings, Borini, Balotelli, Lambert enough). Is a loan a good idea or do we need him now?
We could do with him now but as with Origi deal, if we ant him we have to agree to loan him back Burnley wont give us their star striker while they are playing to stay in the Premiership understandably so we'd have no choice if we want him
the kid learned a little so far for sure... he's stepped up a bit to show what he can do in the prem but for me the jury i very much out on him taking a consistent step up even from fish in a small surviving pond to even mid table. austin for me is the better player. however... if lambert goes for 3mil to palance and balotelli ucks of to whereever then it makes sense... as a pun tto swap a guy who cannot run for a yuong lad who might so some sor tof job is a no brainer. but its not top 4 thinking.
Agreed...however it's a possibility we just can't get him now. He may want to see the season out and I'm pretty sure Burnley won't want to lose him. If it's a question of us being tight with money again it would be crazy. Good price for a decent prospect though and it might be the best thing for his development to have another 6 months where he's guaranteed Prem footy every week
If we were to sign him, why the **** would we loan him back when we are in such dire need of goals...? Can't we loan them one of Balotelli, Lambert or Borini instead? Hell, take all three!
Whether or not we are thinking "in a top four way" won't centre around this transfer surely. It will centre around who we strengthen with in the summer. He's been impressive this year and not looked out of place in the Prem so at his age and at that price it is as you say....a no brainer.
Would prefer him than Balotelli, Lambert or Borini. Throwing one of those into the deal would make this better. Give them Lambert and we can take ings now. Or Borini.
He wouldn't be settled with us anyway without any preseason or time to adjust so he wouldn't help us now in any case. The question is do we want to nail down a young player with great potential for almost nothing (e.g. less than what Everton spent on Brendan Galloway, less than what Man Utd spent on Nick Powell) since his contract is almost up?
We have seen this season that style is more important than substance for our style of play. Balotelli has talent and scored 18 goals last season, but he is not the right style of striker for us because he is to static and not familiar with pressing. We need a striker with pace who runs in behind for our system to work. This is proved by our game improving once Sterling, who is not a striker, started filling in this role. That front runner does not even need to be scoring all the goals, we just need those runs for our system to work. Ings wont be our main man, Sturridge will. But he will be a lot more suitable than what we already have when Sturridge is injured.
Yeah, it took Agger, Sturridge, Suarez and Coutinho an age to settle after they join in a January window
He's the perfect back up striker - he's what we need coming off the bench instead of Lambert or Borini. He'll improve the squad but he won't improve the first team.
'I simply remember my favourite Ings and then I don't feel so bad' Ings. What a stupid ****ing surname
Don't want him, but if we do sign him, why oh why would we not keep him? We need a 2nd striker at the club and to just loan him back would be ridiculous.
In a statement, Burnley said: "This kind of deal is prohibited by the Premier League under rule V7 which states that a player cannot be purchased and loaned back between Premier League clubs in the same transfer window." Chief Executive Lee Hoos added: "This type of move would violate Premier League rule V7 regarding transfers so simply cannot happen. Over the course of the window, the player himself, Sean Dyche and the chairman have made it clear he won't be going anywhere and we consider that the end of the matter."
Apparently, Real Sociedad are also interested in signing him in the summer. European rules would see him move for very little compensation so Burnley would prefer to deal with us this window to maximise income.
