Ian Rush hails player sold by Liverpool, says he’s getting better and better

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Ian Rush hailed the rapid rise of Danny Ings since Liverpool sold the striker to Premier League rivals Southampton last summer while talking to Jim White on talkSPORT (11 September, 12.50pm).

While Saints fans were forced to watch on as Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana lifted the Premier League and Champions League trophies in the past year or so, at least they have one of the hottest goalscorers in Europe to ease the pain.

Since cutting ties with Liverpool and moving to the South Coast on a full-time basis for £20 million, Ings has scored 22 times in the Premier League – more than any member of Jurgen Klopp’s title-winning squad.

And Rush, Liverpool’s record goalscorer, is thrilled to see Ings live up to his potential – even if he had to leave Anfield to get his career back on track.

“Danny Ings is a genuine player,” says one of the greatest strikers to play for the six-time European champions. “He plays on the shoulders of people and everything. He maybe just didn’t suit the way Liverpool play but he is an honest player.

“When I first saw him on a pre-season tour (after he arrived from Burnley in 2015), he was playing on the shoulder of the defender and getting beyond them. He seems to have got even better with confidence!”

With Ings finishing just one goal short of the Golden Boot last season, Liverpool fans could be forgiven for wondering how differently things could have turned out for Brendan Rodgers’ one-time £7 million signing at Anfield.

A relentless series of injuries limited the England international to six Premier League starts in three years on Merseyside.

And while no one should doubt the understated brilliance of Roberto Firmino, Liverpool’s own number nine can’t match Ings when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net.