West Ham United bolster relegation fight hopes by signing England international center forward Danny Ings from Aston Villa..

2023-01-21 14:17

West Ham United bolster relegation fight hopes by signing England international center forward Danny Ings from Aston Villa..




West Ham United announced on their official website on Saturday that the club has signed England international center forward Danny Ings from Aston Villa.


According to the official statement of West Ham United, Ings has signed on a two-and-a-half-year deal which runs until the summer of 2025 with the club. His total transfer fee is £15 million, of which £12 million is the initial fee and a £3 million will be the additional clause fee that will automatically come into effect if the Hammers successfully avoids relegation this season. He will also wear the No. 18 jersey.


After completing his joining procedures, Ings, who was interviewed by West Ham United's official website for the first time said: "I am really happy to have joined West Ham United. The most important thing now is that I must adapt as soon as possible and do my best for West Ham on the pitch."


"We have a couple of big games ahead of us and I'm here to score as many goals as possible and help the team get some positive results. I'm really looking forward to getting to work."


Regarding the arrival of Ings, West Ham United head coach David Moyes added: "I am really happy to see Danny join our team. He is a proven Premier League striker. He will add fierce competition for our position on the offensive end. We look forward to integrating him into the team as we enter the busiest period of the season. "


The 30-year-old Ings was born in Winchester, England on July 23, 1992. He is 1.78 meters tall and plays as a center forward. His father Shayne was an amateur league-level wingback and his main job is a bricklayer.


Ings joined the Southampton youth training system when he was a child, but was released due to his small size. Later, he joined the Bournemouth youth academy, and in October 2009 under the guidance of the current Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe, he completed his first-team debut after coming on as a substitute.


Ings, who didn't gain a firm foothold in the first-team until December 2010, followed Eddie Howe's footsteps to join Burnley in August 2011. After that, he began exhibiting his goalscoring efficiency to help the Clarets promoted to the Premier League in the 2014/15 season.


His hot streak of form continued brilliantly in his first season in the Premier League, and soon became a wonderkid in English football, eventually joining Liverpool in June 2015 for £8 million.


It's a pity that after joining the Reds, although Ings has reached the Champions League final once with the team, he was absent for most of the time due to intermittent serious injuries. For the sake of his career progression, he was forced to leave and join Southampton on a loan with an obligation to buy basis in August 2018.


Ings, who had shaken offf his injury nightmare, finally gradually recovered his peak form during his time at Southampton, causing his ownership to be bought out for £20 million in July of the following year.


In August 2021, Ings moved to Aston Villa for £25 million. He was the key player in the team during the period where former head coach Dean Smith and his former teammate, Steven Gerrard was in charge. However, following reoccurence of his injuries, he gradually slipped to being placed on the bench.


This season, Ings has played 21 times for Aston Villa in all competitions, scoring 7 goals and assisting 3 times. He is the star player who scored the most goals in the first half of the season for the Villans.


West Ham United's performance this season is surprisingly poor. After 19 matchdays, they are currently 18th in the Premier League table, only having 15 points, amassing just 4 wins, 3 draws and 12 losses. Their relegation fight situation is still not very optimistic.