Liverpool FC have joined the race to sign Burnley striker Danny Ings. The striker has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur and Real Sociedad and links with the former have been pretty intense in the past month or so, so the Reds would have plenty of competition in their pursuit.
Liverpool ECHO have reported: The Reds are hoping to agree a deal prior to Monday night’s transfer deadline and would then loan him back to the Clarets for the rest of the season. Brendan Rodgers is a big admirer of the 22-year-old frontman, who has scored seven Premier League goals so far this season.
The 22 year old is out of contract this summer and interest from top clubs makes it difficult for the Clarets to hold on to their prized asset as they require his services for survival in the top flight. It would be difficult for the club to get him to renew his contract and they obviously don’t want to sell him for free in the summer.
As a result, Liverpool are believed to be prepared to buy him now and let him stay with Sean Dyche’s side till the end of the season. As Ings is under the age of 24, anyone signing him this summer would need to pay Burnley around A?3million in compensation.
Ings started his career in the youth ranks at Southampton, before moving to Bournemouth.He made his first-team debut in 2009 and scored eight goals in 30 appearances for the Cherries. He moved to Burnley in August 2011, for a sum believed to be in the region of around A?1million. He has scored 39 times in 114 matches for the Clarets. It is not understating when saying he was a key part of why Burnley got promoted as last season, he scored 21 goals in the Championship for the side and won the Championship Player of the Year award. He has scored four goals in seven appearances for England U-21 side, and if he continues his goalscoring form, he is surely going to get a senior call-up very soon.
With Daniel Sturridge returning from injury (at long last), Liverpool have four strikers available to them in the form of Sturridge himself, Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert. Liverpool’s strikers have not fared well this season and it is no surprise Brendan Rodgers, believed to be a big admirer of Ings, is looking at other options for next season as it is almost certain one, if not two, out of Balotelli, Borini and Lambert would be shipped off next season. The likelihood of the Italian duo not being at the club is more likely as Lambert was always brought in to be a squad player and to offer a ‘plan B’.
Getting Ings right now wouldn’t make sense for all three parties as once Sturridge returns, he would directly be reinstated in the starting 11 and Brendan Rodgers’ 3-4-2-1 formation which has worked well only requires one striker. In the absence of the England international. Raheem Sterling has led the line for the Reds. Therefore Ings won’t even get enough game time, something he requires at his age. Moreover, Burnley need him to ensure they are safe by the end of the season and in the summer, they can look for other striking options.
There is believed to be plenty of competition for the young Englishman, who has also attracted attention from Chelsea (apart from the clubs mentioned before), so it certainly won’t be easy landing him but it is certain that it would be a very interesting chase.