Ings could soon be sent packing if West Ham unleash “insane” teen star perhaps it’s time for the Hammers to ditch the veteran talisman, whose goalscoring peak is behind him.
Danny Ings for West Ham
Goalscoring has long been a problem for West Ham United, with a consistent failure to sign a high-class centre-forward fit something of a problem for many years.
Jarrod Bowen has been in exceptional form this season and after scoring a hat-trick against Brentford at the start of March, David Moyes remarked that he could become the first Hammers player to reach 20 Premier League goals in a campaign. With nine games left to play, he would need six goals to achieve this feat.
Mohammed Kudus is also a sublime player and Michail Antonio thrives as the grizzled veteran dominating defenders with sheer power and deceptive movements.
The recent past, however, looks at high-profile moves for centre-forwards such as Gianluca Scamacca and Sebastien Haller and concludes that work still must be done to identify and acquire the best strikers to lead the line.
Danny Ings, Premier League-proven and innately effective in front of goal, was supposed to be that player, but the three-cap England international has failed to reach his former levels of success.
Why Danny Ings has struggled at West Ham
During the most fruitful period of his itinerant Premier League career, Ings plundered 46 goals and ten assists from 100 fixtures with Southampton, proving to be one of the Premier League’s finest marksmen and being heralded as a “goal machine” by journalist Joe Prince-Wright.
Ings kept defenders on their feet, blessed with a strange, twisting sprinting style that sporting performance analyst Jonas Dodoo described as a “corkscrew action”, allowing his body mechanics to lean into faster bursts of acceleration, effectively meaning he could weave round backlines and wreak havoc with his clinical shot-taking.
Former Southampton striker Danny Ings.
He left the south coast for Aston Villa but didn’t spend much time with the Midlands side, transferring again to West Ham for £15m in January 2023, with the 31-year-old seemingly offering the steady goal flow that Moyes’ side, hampered by the injury and absence of form to Scamacca, desperately needed.
Enduring one of the least potent spells of his professional career, Ings has only scored four goals from 46 appearances for West Ham, with his recent point-salvaging goal against Burnley in the Premier League – a good finish, mind – the striker’s only strike of the season.
But why has this happened? While he didn’t settle at Villa, Ings still posted six Premier League goals from nine starts for the club in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign.
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Moreover, he ranks among the top 20% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 25% for assists, the top 24% for successful take-ons, the top 12% for tackles, the top 10% for interceptions and the top 20% for clearances per 90.
He’s not a dud, but The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas has highlighted just why the £125k-per-week ace is flattering to deceive in east London, musing over stylistic issues within Moyes’ tactical set-up.
“I don’t think this system works for Danny Ings. He’s often too isolated up front. Hasn’t quite clicked barring his two goals against Nottingham Forest. Antonio has great work rate so he has no issues playing as a lone striker. But Ings has struggled in that role.”
Given Ings’ high salary, it might be wise for West Ham to send him packing in the summer, and given the chequered track record with signing talented frontmen across recent years, Moyes may well turn to the academy, finding a prospect in Callum Marshall who would send Ings packing.
Why Callum Marshall could replace Danny Ings
While Divin Mubama is probably the highest-profile West Ham youngster right now, Marshall might just be the cream of the crop, with the 19-year-old Northern Irishman earning a loan move to West Bromwich Albion in January after some mesmerising efforts for the U21s, also penning a long-term contract with the Irons.
