Danny Ings Identified As Loan Target For West Ham

Danny Ings’ road to recovery from two serious knee injuries has been a long and torturous one, but the striker can’t be accused of having thrown in the towel in the face of adversity. Ings has been diligently biding his time with Liverpool’s U23 squad, patiently awaiting an opportunity to return to the senior squad. Now, it seems possible that his path forward may take him further afield before it takes him to Anfield.

The Mirror have reported that West Ham have identified Ings as a potential loan target when the January transfer window opens. Newly appointed manager David Moyes has a herculean task on his hands, and if he is going to have any hope of keeping West Ham in the Premier League, he will more than likely need reinforcements in January for a squad that has looked lost at sea for long spells so far. With limited budget flexibility, Moyes may look for temporary assistance from other clubs.

Enter Danny Ings, who reportedly is also a target for Bournemouth and Newcastle. With Javier Hernandez - whose near term future with West Ham was already cloudy -possibly nursing a knock picked up during international duty for Mexico, Moyes could use some help up front. Admittedly, the basis for Moyes’ purported interest in Ings is thinly-sourced at best, and based in part on the West Ham manager’s prior interest in the player back when Moyes was in charge at Real Sociedad.

From Liverpool’s and Jürgen Klopp’s perspective, some consistent Premier League minutes for Ings elsewhere might be an excellent foundation for a return to the senior squad (perhaps setting aside the fact that he’d be playing under David Moyes). It would also, however, make Ings’ appearance in a Liverpool shirt somewhat unlikely for the remainder of the season, and might grease the wheels for a permanent departure depending on how things go. In any event, it looks like January might be a critical juncture for Danny Ings’ Liverpool career.