Crystal Palace have thrown their name into the hat for Aston Villa striker Danny Ings
According to The Sun, Premier League side Crystal Palace have entered the race to secure the services of Aston Villa striker Danny Ings in the ongoing January transfer window.
The Englishman is a well-travelled striker, having played for several Premier League sides. Injuries curtailed his progress at Liverpool, but he re-established his credentials as a reliable goalscorer by moving to Southampton.
This earned him a transfer to Aston Villa in 2021, but it has not gone according to plan so far. A return of 14 goals and seven assists from 50 games is decent but far from prolific. More so, his lack of consistency has seen him struggle to make much of an impact even in favourable circumstances.
Unai Emery replaced Steven Gerrard at the helm at Villa Park, and it would appear that the Spaniard does not fancy Ings. In fact, the 30-year-old has been left out of all of Villa’s three Premier League games post the World Cup hiatus.
Villa dropping their top scorer this season is a message of sorts that the player’s career at the club is in jeopardy. This has provided Crystal Palace with enough encouragement to make their move for the striker.
Patrick Vieira is building a promising young team at Selhurst Park but lacks an infallible goalscorer who can lead the line. In fact, the Eagles have outscored just five teams in the Premier League this season, all of who are in the bottom six.
Wilfried Zaha continues to be the lynchpin in the attack for Palace and is unsurprisingly their top scorer this season with six strikes. However, the winger’s future at the club is far from secure, and an exit could see Palace drop the ball in the offence.
The likes of Odsonne Edouard, Jordan Ayew and Jean-Philipe Mateta have all struggled and have combined for a mere seven goals this season, the same number Ings has scored alone for Villa. Vieira is keen to take the 30-year-old on loan or even on a permanent deal should Villa give the go-ahead.
Adding the Englishman to the roster will be a win-win for all parties. Palace will get the striker they crave, while Ings, in all likelihood, will garner regular playtime. Villa can also recoup some transfer fee which can then be reinvested back into the squad.
The Eagles possess an exciting midfield filled with talents such as Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise among others. Having a clinical finisher upfront will do justice to the young midfielders’ creativity and help Palace push up the table.
They will, however, face competition from Everton, who are struggling to extricate themselves from another relegation dogfight. Palace is certainly in a better position than the Merseysiders and have more reason to be optimistic about their future. Given his Liverpool connections, Ings might be better off making the move to Selhurst Park over Goodison Park.
