David Moyes is set to start Danny Ings for the first time this Saturday as West Ham United host Nottingham Forest. An injury has limited the striker since his transfer from Aston Villa.
That is according to the Daily Mail, which reports West Ham have declared Ings fit to start their crucial Premier League clash. Moyes is desperate to better integrate the 30-year-old to his XI with the Irons 18th in the table. Nottingham Forest travel to east London sat in 13th.
Moyes is facing a must-win match against the Reds as pressure mounts on the Scot. While Michail Antonio has struggled to lead the Hammers’ attack in recent weeks. The 32-year-old has only fashioned one shot on target through his last seven Premier League appearances.
Ings has only featured for 68 minutes since joining Antonio and Gianluca Scamacca at the London Stadium in January. West Ham paid Aston Villa £12m, rising to £15m with add-ons, for the striker. Yet a minor knee injury suffered on his Irons debut has limited his minutes.
But Moyes is now planning his line-up to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday with Ings in West Ham’s starting XI. The Scot is desperate to see the striker get amongst the goals with a more prominent role. Only Wolves, Everton (17) and Forest (18) have scored fewer (19).
Danny Ings’ injury record put Southampton off rivalling West Ham for his transfer
Jarrod Bowen is West Ham’s top scorer so far this season with four goals over 23 Premier League appearances. Scamacca, Said Benrahma (3), Lucas Paqueta and Antonio (2) are the only other Hammers players to net more than once. Five Irons stars have hit home once.
Despite leaving Aston Villa this January, Ings remains the Villans’ second most productive player so far this term. The forward left Birmingham following six goals over 18 games this term. But he only started during eight of those appearances for a total of just 819 minutes.
West Ham are yet to see Ings open his tally ahead of facing Nottingham Forest with Moyes having to manage his injury. While the three-cap England striker’s past record with injuries put Southampton off a deal in January. The Athletic reported they felt a deal was too risky.
Yet Darren Bent told talkSPORT (19/01, 16:10) of his surprise that Southampton or Wolves did not target Ings. He felt West Ham had secured ‘a really good signing’ with the ‘fantastic’ forward. Especially as he scored 22 goals during the 2019/20 top-flight term for the Saints.
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