On the aftermath of a poor season by Liverpool’s standards, Brendan Rodgers is making no delays in building his squad for the next season. Danny Ings is Liverpool’s second signing of the summer, as confirmed by the club.
Despite Burnley’s unimpressive campaign in the Premier League, Danny Ings scored 11 goals while assisting 4. He has been scoring consistently for Burnley and was awarded the Football League Championship Player of the Year 2013-14, as he helped the Clarets in their promotion to the Premier League.
Liverpool’s strikers had a poor campaign last season with Balotelli ending up among the worst signings of the season while Lambert still hasn’t found his place in the first team. Sturridge has been struggling with his fitness. Ings will be an improvement for Liverpool but he may not be enough. The teams finishing in the top 4 already have stronger squads and are likely to improve further. Besides, Liverpool need to make some marquee signings if they want to challenge for the title.
Stats comparison from last season (per 90 metrics):
Mario Balotelli:
Goals: 0.10; Assists: 0; Chances Created: 0.67; Key Passes: 0.67; Pass Completion: 70%.
Rickie Lambert:
Goals: 0.21; Assists: 0.21; Chances Created: 1.15; Key Passes: 0.94; Pass Completion: 68%.
Danny Ings:
Goals: 0.33; Assists: 0.12; Chances Created: 1.04; Key Passes: 0.92; Pass Completion: 71%.
Whatever the stats suggest, Danny Ings is arguably a better finisher than all of Liverpool’s current strikers. With Sturridge expected to be back for next season, Ings can form a good partnership with him up front. He is definitely an upgrade, but whether he will be good enough to push Liverpool to the top 4 remains to be seen.
