West Ham have agreed a deal to sign striker Danny Ings from Aston Villa. But what will the forward bring to the Hammers’ underperforming attack?
According to reports, the London side will shell out £15 million for the 30-year-old in a surprise transfer. West Ham moved swiftly to secure Danny Ings, whose contract at Aston Villa was due to expire in June 2024.
Ings only moved to Villa Park in the summer of 2021, costing them £25 million. However, he did not reach the same goalscoring form that he achieved at Southampton whilst at Villa. Last season, the Englishman grabbed seven league goals from 30 appearances – Ings’ lowest tally since his injury-hit days at Liverpool.
This may have been down to his shared striker responsibilities with Ollie Watkins, though.
In contrast, 2022/23 has been an improvement. Ings has nearly matched last season’s goal total, with six strikes from 18 games. This is also made more impressive by the fact that 10 of his appearances have been off the bench.
Prior to Aston Villa, Danny Ings had a proven goal record at Southampton. For instance, during the 2019/20 season, the forward scored 22 times. This made him the joint-second-highest scorer in that campaign, which he then followed up with a double-figure hall in 2020/21.
As a result of his reputation, West Ham have decided to roll the dice with Danny Ings. They are in desperate need of goals after an underwhelming 2022/23 thus far.
Danny Ings: the man to fix the West Ham goalscoring problem?
The Hammers have scored just league 15 goals this season, the second-lowest return in the topflight. Therefore, despite many expecting West Ham to challenge for Europe once more, they instead find themselves embroiled in a relegation scrap.
Currently, David Moyes’ side are 18th in the table, on the same points as bottom-club Southampton. This weekend’s crunch match against Everton could end up being Moyes’ last as manager if he doesn’t get a result. But how did it get to this?
According to numbers from UnderStat, the Hammers are simply not converting chances. They have created an xG of 23.79 but only scored 15 times. They have also failed to score in nine of their 19 league games.
Additionally, marquee summer signing Gianluca Scamacca has not exactly hit the ground running. The London side bought the forward from Sassuolo in a deal worth £35 million. In Serie A, Scamacca showed great form, scoring 16 times in 2021/22.
Although he has shown flashes of potential, the Italian has just three league goals this year.
Similarly, West Ham’s typically reliable stars are having down years. Both Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio have only notched two goals each in 2022/23. The club are even exploring options to let Antonio go elsewhere, with Wolves reportedly interested.
So, what Danny Ings can bring to West Ham is a reliable scoring option that consistently gets in the right areas. He is also a clinical finisher, outperforming his xG in the last four seasons.
If they can keep Ings injury-free and supply him with chances, the striker may just fire West Ham up the table.
Featured image credit: Getty
