David Moyes has now made his decision on what role Danny Ings will play with West Ham United in the forward’s first full season at London Stadium in the 2023/24 term.
That is according to Paul Brown, who notes that Moyes is set to overlook Ings as West Ham’s main striker. Even though question marks still linger over the Hammers’ attacking options for the new campaign. And despite Moyes signing the 31-year-old from Aston Villa this January.
West Ham backed Moyes in the market to bolster his striker department with a £15m move for Ings. The Irons paid the Villans an initial £12m plus £3m in add-ons to sign the three-cap England star. While Ings put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half year, £125k-a-week contract.
Danny Ings has struggled to justify his transfer to West Ham
His contract at London Stadium takes Ings beyond his 33rd birthday but only returned West Ham three goals last season. The forward found the net twice during his 17 Premier League appearances. He also fired once across five appearances in the Europa Conference League.
Ings further offered West Ham two assists in the top-flight across 771 minutes after starting in just seven games. Moyes seldom favoured their veteran marksman over his other veteran forward, Michail Antonio. Yet Antonio’s ongoing role in West Ham remains unclear, as well.
West Ham have also given Gianluca Scamacca permission to undergo a medical at Atalanta. Sky Italia reports the forward will head to Bergamo on Saturday to undergo his fitness tests ahead of a €30m (£26m) move. Atalanta will pay West Ham an initial fee of €25m (£21.5m).
David Moyes will make Danny Ings pay for his struggles in 22/23
Yet even with Scamacca returning to Serie A, Moyes will overlook Ings as West Ham’s main striker. The Winchester-born attacker struggled to justify his transfer to London Stadium in 2022/23. Now, only scoring in the top-flight back in February will cost Ings next season, too.
Ings offered his only Premier League goals for West Ham against Nottingham Forest in a 4-0 win in east London. He did not influence another goal before their penultimate fixture of the campaign, either. Yet Owen Hargreaves thinks Ings can go under the radar when at his best.
“I think [his passing] is an underrated part of his game,” he told Premier League Productions (27/02/23, 17:45). “I think he is a lot better footballer than people give him credit for.”
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