With Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge set to spend at least two months on the sidelines with injury, the Reds are currently considering back-up striker options, and Brendan Rodgers has reportedly identified Burnley goalscorer Danny Ings as a potential January transfer target.
According to multiple reports over the last week:
* Liverpool are interested in signing Ings in January.
* LFC scouts have watched the 21-year old several times over the last few weeks.
With 15 goals and 4 assists in 22 games this season, Ings is in superb form at the moment, and Burnley have reportedly slapped a £10m transfer fee on him as a result. In my view, that is excessive and optimistic, for the following reasons:
* Ings is not a proven goalscorer. He's on fire this season, but between 2010 and 2013, he grabbed just 14 goals overall.
* His injury history is a concern: Ings has been blighted with injuries over the last two seasons, and with Sturridge already injury prone, LFC don't need another striker susceptible to problems.
* It's a risk to spend £5m-£10m on a Championship striker so early in his career. Who's to say that Ings won't turn out to be a one-season wonder, or even a half-season wonder?
Ings - recently called up to the England U21 team - certainly appears to have the right attitude, though. In a recent interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, he vowed to become a 'better player' than the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Ravel Morrison, and LFC's Raheem Sterling. He noted:
“It’s really good [to play alongside Zaha, Sterling and Morrison] but to be honest, I look at them and think: ‘I want to do better than you and push myself further than you and become a better player’. And that’s what I’ll strive for every day.”
A positive, proactive mindset, but for me, if Liverpool are going to sign a striker from the lower-leagues then the obvious choice is Blackburn's Jordan Rhodes:
* 128 goals in the last 4.5 seasons
* Averages 30 goals a season.
* Scored goals in Ligue One, and now in the Championship.
* Clearly a proven goalscorer.
* Rarely gets injured.
* International experience with Scotland.
Liverpool were heavily linked with Rhodes last year, and I still can't really fathom why the Reds ignored him.
Author: Jaimie K
According to multiple reports over the last week:
* Liverpool are interested in signing Ings in January.
* LFC scouts have watched the 21-year old several times over the last few weeks.
With 15 goals and 4 assists in 22 games this season, Ings is in superb form at the moment, and Burnley have reportedly slapped a £10m transfer fee on him as a result. In my view, that is excessive and optimistic, for the following reasons:
* Ings is not a proven goalscorer. He's on fire this season, but between 2010 and 2013, he grabbed just 14 goals overall.
* His injury history is a concern: Ings has been blighted with injuries over the last two seasons, and with Sturridge already injury prone, LFC don't need another striker susceptible to problems.
* It's a risk to spend £5m-£10m on a Championship striker so early in his career. Who's to say that Ings won't turn out to be a one-season wonder, or even a half-season wonder?
Ings - recently called up to the England U21 team - certainly appears to have the right attitude, though. In a recent interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, he vowed to become a 'better player' than the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Ravel Morrison, and LFC's Raheem Sterling. He noted:
“It’s really good [to play alongside Zaha, Sterling and Morrison] but to be honest, I look at them and think: ‘I want to do better than you and push myself further than you and become a better player’. And that’s what I’ll strive for every day.”
A positive, proactive mindset, but for me, if Liverpool are going to sign a striker from the lower-leagues then the obvious choice is Blackburn's Jordan Rhodes:
* 128 goals in the last 4.5 seasons
* Averages 30 goals a season.
* Scored goals in Ligue One, and now in the Championship.
* Clearly a proven goalscorer.
* Rarely gets injured.
* International experience with Scotland.
Liverpool were heavily linked with Rhodes last year, and I still can't really fathom why the Reds ignored him.
Author: Jaimie K
Jordan Rhodes all the way! I am confident he would do the business in the PL!
ReplyDeleteSign him up Brendan!
Forget Rhodes and Ings.
ReplyDeleteDiego Costa is the player we need to go back for. CL should sweeten the deal for him...
It's hard for me to believe this Rhodes kid isn't playing in the PL now. He's playing against teams that bounce back and forth in the PL and scoring lots of goals. He has got to be better than the strikers for Norwich, Cardiff, Hull, Fulham and the like...what's up with this. He would make a good signing for our third striker. We need that less than we need some good DCMs.
ReplyDeleteThe scouts would know who can step up to the PL and score at that level - either of those lads may be one who can't get the space in the PL and hardly scores, we could name loads of players who get loads in the Champ and none in the PL. Ings may well do but is a risk, Rhodes is a poacher relying on movement more like Kevin Phillips but is he likely to be better than Phillips? No, and Phillips would never have been good enough for LFC.
ReplyDeleteIs Aspas now a forgotten man! Let him take the helm, may send out the wrong signal to academy/fringe players having to dip into the championship instead utilising fringe or younger players!
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't help LFC in January though, does it?
ReplyDeleteLooks like Ings has similar stats to a young Alan Shearer........
ReplyDeleteAre we after another striker though?
ReplyDeleteBurnley fan here. Ings is a very very good forward, who (all being well) will turn out better than the last two that have been poached off us recently: Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez. Austin will be scoring in the prem next year and Rodriguez could already be doing a job for Liverpool. It's not surprising he's being linked with you but it can't be cheap (in Championship terms). We'd be nowhere near the top of the Championship without Ings, being top 2 by May is worth roughly £100m to us.
ReplyDeleteGet Rhodes, Blackburn are in a financial black hole, won't be going up this year so are in a better position to sell. And their team would appear to be nothing without him, so is a better outcome for Burnley fans too!
Can't be that hard to believe that he is still at Blackburn...
ReplyDeleteHow much is his asking price? Maybe that clears things up?
Ings, Rhodes or none of the above. I'd have a go and see if So'ton would sell Rickie Lambert
ReplyDeleteWould much rather Rhodes if it were to be anyone from the Championship. I think Blackburn would ask stupid money for him , not saying they would get it though.
ReplyDeleteHave read a couple of reports that Mohamed Salah European Representative have been seen at Anfield on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel he would be a great signing and give us that something extra.
His performance against Chelsea was particularly impressive.
As for Ings, there is always a risk signing any player from the Championship that has never played in the Prem.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a lot players, especially strikers, who have been prolific in the championship but were unable to make the grade in the prem
Salah looks good man!
ReplyDeleteI figure we wont go after another striker Aspas is back fit and will suffice as a backup highly doubt we will sell him in January (maybe summer if he doesn't come good) I'm not sure whether we can recall Borini but signing another striker would see us with 5 first team strikers come summer.
ReplyDeleteI think the more realistic positions for new additions will be central midfield perhaps Will Hughes and a wide forward to allow Coutinho to play through the middle more instead of on the left. Moses is a ok short term option but it is no secret we scouted Yarmolenko in summer, Tom Ince in the past and there seems to be real interest in Mohammad Salah (who by all accounts is a great young player). Diego Costas price will have risen since summer and I doubt we will fork out the bill to pay for him as much as I'd like that.
Burnley. You don't want to be seen confusing Blackburn and Burnley by either set of their fans ;)
ReplyDeleteMichael Chopra is the perfect case for this but saying that he even seems to trail off in the second half of the season as well.
ReplyDeleteBorini would do equally good if not better in Championship.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a titanic blunder. Lambert was never that good in his prime and he's past that now.
ReplyDeleteSurely with Aspases record in a better league he is a better option the club need not worry with squad players we have plenty.
ReplyDeleteTo me they really must buy 1st team quality and if they only pick up a couple at some stage it would improve the side greatly
Really dont see Ings being the quality they need even Yesil may be a better option.
Rodgers needs one proven attacker that can sit on the bench and be quiet without problems. For me when you have two strikers at their prime, like Suarez (26) and Sturridge (24), you must find a thirty something player that can have an instant impact as substitution and play some cup games and be in the first eleven only when someone of SAS has a problem. Some examples are Peter Crouch (32), Dirk Kuyt (33), Dimitar Berbatov (32), Jermain Defoe (31), Rickie Lambert (31) and of course you can add some more. All international players that have quality, can score goals, have knowledge and experience in the Premier League and they are not so expensive. We want results now. Get "top four" or more this year with cynical moves in January transfer market and then buy young talent from position of control. Now days many are laughing with Hansen's quote "you can't win anything with boys". But - with not many exceptions - Hansen is right about that...
ReplyDeleteFixed it.
ReplyDeleteI like the look of Ings, I must say. Can score all kinds of goals, looks like a gnarly customer with a bit of bite and competitive spirit about him, and can play across the front or in behind. A typical Rodgers player I'd say, and as others have mentioned, he seems like a great lad and deserves a shot at the big time. I wouldn't mind seeing him at Anfield... but not for £10m.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a real good player. No way to tell from the video if he will fit/work in the current LFC or not.
ReplyDeleteHe associatively brings some really good players to my mind while watching the video. Something that Aspas for example hasn't done at the time.
Adrian, Vietto, Berbatov so far sounded good to me.
Salah. Not long ago he would have been half a bench player for has. Right now he will be by far the best winger in our team. Hope he is not too inflated.
ReplyDeleteA positive: He looks like if the -right- work is put in he can improve immensely and become a real great.
No it wouldn't. We have two great strikers in Sturridge and Suarez but what we lack is someone to score goals when either one of them is injured or suspended. With Sturridge's fitness record and Suarez's past suspensions, only an utter idiot could not see that. But Rodgers being Rodgers of course didn't. So now we're left with one fit striker and two central midfielders. Opposition players will roughen up their game and all we can do is pull out of tackles because the last thing we need is more injuries. Anyway, back on topic, an old head like Lambert will come in and get you a couple of goals purely on experience. A young kid like Rhodes, you never know if he can make the transition. Less risk with Lambert
ReplyDeleteInstead of spending 10M on potential, B Rodgers needs to spend on a proven international striker, L Remy(26) Of QPR currently at Newcastle Rodgers could bring to the club for 6-10M
ReplyDeleteRemy(26) Guarantees goals in the premiership and has champions league experience and would score wherever he goes
Transition to LFC wouldn't make Lambert any better than he is now...which is not good enough.
ReplyDeleteWhat could LFC offer Costa that he isn't getting at Atletico now? Costa will only go one of two places RM or Barca and...and I don't believe either until the summer at any rate.
ReplyDelete97 in 184 at So'ton doesn't say that to me.
ReplyDeleteI've never watched Ings play a full game, but there's nothing in his highlight reel to excite - I was never an advocate of signing Borini in the first place, or Aspas either, and from his clips Ings looks like another player of exactly the same mould
ReplyDelete