1. Danny Ings: Liverpool’s Next English Star or Latest
Expensive Flop?
Liverpool have beenbusyalreadythissummerinthe transfermarket,agreeingdealsforboth
ManchesterCity’smidfieldstalwartJamesMilnerandBurnleystrikerDannyIngs.Bothare
consideredremarkable talentsinthe Englishgame andcontinue Liverpool’srecentpolicyunder
FSG’sownershipof buyingBritish.
Milner,29, has a provenrecordat the highestlevel,havingspentthe lastfive yearsatManchester
City,winningtwoPremierLeague titlesandscoring13 goalsin 147 appearances duringhistime at
the club.Before joiningCity,he enjoyedsuccessful spellsatAstonVilla,wherehisformsecured a
hefty £26 milliontransfertothe 2013-14 champions,andNewcastle,furtherprovinghiscredentials
to hisnewclub.Milnerwill joinLiverpool onafree transferwhenhiscontractexpires on1 July,
subjecttohimpassinga medical.
Ings,however,despite hisobvioustalent,isrelatively untriedatthislevel.The 22 year-oldhashad
onlyone year’sexperience inthe PremierLeague,withrecentlyrelegatedBurnley,scoring11 goals
witha side thatseemedatpointsalmostincapable of anysortof attackingintent. The striker’s
predatoryinstinctshave beennoticedbyanumberof clubsaround the country,withIngsspurning
the attentionsof bothChelsea andTottenhaminordertosignfor the Reds,and byRoy Hodgsonand
Gareth Southgate inthe Englandset-up.He hasbecome a regularfixture inthe EnglandUnder-21
team,withan impressive scoringrecordof 4 goalsin9 games,althoughhe hasnot yetearneda call-
up to the full seniorsquad.ItappearsthatIngs’ rise as one of the mostexcitingEnglishstriking
prospectshascome at the wrongtime,withthe emergence of HarryKane,Charlie Austin,Jamie
Vardyand, to a lesserextent,SaidoBerahino(Ings’competitionforastartingberth at the Under-21
EuropeanChampionshipslaterthismonth),coincidingwithhismid-seasonrunof form, where he
scored5 goalsin7 games.
Althoughall of the signssofar lookgoodfor Liverpool’snew signing - home-grown,young,hard-
workingandwitha decentscoringrecord – it isno secretthattheirdecisiontotake himon isa
significantgamble.He hasa way to gobefore he can be consideredaprovenPremierLeague striker
and,givenLiverpool’slackof goalsthisseasonafterthe lossof LuisSuarezto Barcelona,he will be
expectedtoimprove onthisseason’sgoal tallyif Liverpoolare torecoverfromtheir6th
place finish
and regainChampionsLeague football andtheirplace amongthe sport’selite.Itwill nothave gone
unnoticedbyBrendanRodgersthat,followinghisJanuary-Februarygoal rush,Ingsthenwent10
gameswithouta goal,as Burnleyslippedcloserandclosertorelegation.Thisisthe sortof form that
Liverpool cannotaffordif theyare seriousaboutmovingthemselvesupthe table inthe nextfew
seasons.
It shouldn’tbe toohardto betterthe current strikersLiverpoolhave toofferatthe moment,butIngs
cannot allowhimself andhisstatisticstoslipdowntothe levelsof MarioBalotelli,Rickie Lambert,
FabioBorini,andthe last up-and-comingEnglishstrikerLiverpool signed,AndyCarroll. £89million
has beenspenttryingtofill the voidleftinthe club’sforwardlinebyFernandoTorresandyetonly
LuisSuarezhas beenable toshowhimself tobe a suitable replacement. Ingsmustmake sure he
doesnotmerely become anotherstatisticinthe club’s£66 millionof failedstrikers.
Furthermore,withDivockOrigi producingthe worstseasonof hisownfledglingcareer,being
includedinLigue 1’s worstteamof the year,put togetherbyFrenchmagazine L’Equipe,andDaniel
Sturridge continuallyplaguedbyinjury,Ingsmaybe forcedtoleadthe line alone,afeathe has not

2. oftenbeenfacedwith.Thisseasonhe hasteamedupwithone of AshleyBarnes,SamVokesorLukas
Jutkiewiczina two-prongedattackinalmosteverygame andthere isa suspicionthatitmay take
some time toadapt to thisnewresponsibility.
It has beensuggestedbymanyonlookers,particularlyformerLiverpool legendJohnAldridge,that
Liverpool mayneedtospendbigonanother“finishedarticle”strikertosupportIngs. WhilstAldridge
was complementaryof Ings’ability,describingLiverpool’schoicetosignhimas a “no-brainer”,he
insistedthatIngswill notbe able tocarry Liverpool’sattackonhisown:
"You needastrikerwhoguarantees20 goalsa seasonandtheydon't come cheap."
Liverpool have recentlybeenlinkedwithanumberof otherstrikersonthe back pagesandgossip
columns,includingunsettledstrikersChristianBentekeandCarlosTevez,currentlyatAstonVillaand
Juventusrespectively,butbothplayersare verymuchindemand.Followingthe arrival of Tim
Sherwood,arejuvenatedBenteke scored13goalsin the last15 gamesof thisseasonto save Villa
fromrelegation,andTevez’sgoalshelpedJuventusreachthe ChampionsLeague final,beatingReal
Madrid and BorussiaDortmundonthe way.It is well-knownaroundthe PremierLeague thatAston
Villaare reluctanttosell suchan influential player,althoughnews of arelease clause of £32.5 million
inhis contract mayleave the clubwithnochoice,but itseemsthatLiverpool are behindthe league’s
biggerclubsinthe queue forhissignature.Moreover,althoughLiverpoolhave beenmonitoring
Tevez’sprogressatJuventusforsome time,he appearsmore likelytosignforAtleticoMadridinthe
comingdays.
WhateverLiverpool’stravailsinthe transfermarketbringtothe clubby18:00 on 1 September,itis
clearthat the signingof DannyIngs has broughta sense of positivityandexcitementtothe club.
Whetherhe isworthall the hype thatsurroundshim, we will findout nextseason.