Southampton signed the striker on loan from Liverpool in the summer, with an option to buy next year.
Danny Ings was a risky signing for Southampton this summer, as suggested by the deadline day deal. In fact, the Saints waited so long to make the move that they had to be granted special permission to complete it after the deadline.
It is easy to understand the initial doubt, seeing as Ings suffered two long-term knee injuries in his time at Liverpool.
It would have been a large part of Crystal Palace’s reasoning as they reportedly opted for Swansea’s Jordan Ayew instead, according to the Guardian.
Already, however, it is beginning to look like Southampton’s risk has got them one of the signings of the Premier League season.
Ings has scored three goals in his first four starts, a figure that, rather ridiculously, would have made him Southampton’s joint-fourth top scorer last year.
That goal threat was something the Saints sorely needed. Charlie Austin top-scored with just seven last year, with Shane Long getting two. But, on top of that, Ings’ work rate and energy are making him a constant outlet.
Ings has shown he can pounce when Southampton are not playing well with a goal in a 2-1 defeat to Everton, that he can set them on to victories like against Palace, and he showed fantastic nerve to win and convert a penalty against Brighton.
He is already clinching points for the side and, importantly, giving Southampton something they sorely lacked last year – a season that saw them scrape survival.
If he keeps this up, there might not have been a more important signing anywhere else in England.
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