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Confirmed Liverpool target Danny Ings may not be in any potential future plans. The Reds originally planned to sign the striker and loan him back to Burnley until the end of the season. As the young striker's contract was up at the end of the season, Liverpool wanted to pay a fee close to the one a tribunal would have decided on in the summer without getting into a transfer battle with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur. As Ings is under 24, he is not available to sign for a Bosman-style transfer for free but has to draw some fee for his club for his training, education, and talent. A fee of around £3 million may be the figure needed to compensate Burnley for taking Ings on at the end of his contract. A club abroad would pay significantly less, next to nothing.
This is where David Moyes and Real Sociedad come in. The fee for Danny Ings would be around a tenth of what an English club would pay on a pre-contract, so the Spanish side would be looking at just 300k needed to secure what would be a good striker for the club. Moyes has been reportedly disappointed with the lack of transfer activity with La Real last month and cannot sign any players as the transfer window has already closed in Spain (midnight local time 30 January). Moyes needs players in his squad who can offer greater variety and depth in attack, and this would be an interesting move for a young English player.
BBC's Ian Dennis broke the news on twitter and is a reliable and respected football journalist. This could change things for Liverpool if it happens, as the striker was pencilled in to be part of the squad next season.
ONE TO WATCH ..... Hearing Burnley striker Danny Ings signed pre contract terms last week with Real Soceidad. #bbcdeadlineday
— Ian Dennis (@Iandennisbbc) February 2, 2015
More on this as it happens, but Liverpool's future striking options will still be at large in the football world if this deal is finalised. Sean Dyche has expressed his concern that Liverpool's interested affected Burnley's top scorer but was firm on the striker remaining at the club until the end of the season. This would perhaps settle matters for all concerned parties more quickly than some anticipated.
