Many Fantasy Premier League (FPL) plans were thrown into disarray on Wednesday evening when Aston Villa announced the surprise signing of Southampton forward Danny Ings (£8.0m).
It was something of a throwback to how transfer business used to get done, with no news or rumours reported by a single journalist.
With all eyes on Jack Grealish’s (£8.0m) imminent departure to Manchester City, the Villans threw us a curveball by confirming the capture of Ings for a fee believed to be an initial £25m plus add-ons.
The 29-year-old forward joins summer recruits Leon Bailey (£6.5m), Emiliano Buendía (£6.5m) and Ashley Young (£5.0m) at Villa Park.
Villa head coach Dean Smith said of Ings’ capture:
“Danny is an outstanding Premier League footballer who has scored goals wherever he has played. He is also a top professional with a great character who will be a leader in our squad and a role model for our rapidly developing young Academy players who are now in and around the first team. I am delighted to welcome Danny to our great Club.”
Ings’ move to B6 is a significant one for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers that may well have ramifications for Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) too, which we’ll explore in our latest Moving Target report below.
INGS’ PROFILE AND STATS
First and foremost, Ings is a proven goalscorer.
In fact, only Harry Kane (£12.5m), Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Jamie Vardy (£10.5m) have scored more across the last two Premier League seasons.
During that time, he has overperformed his expected goal (xG) totals in both campaigns, with an impressive goal conversion rate of 21.1% in 2020/21.
However, he also offers more to the team in his all-round game.
He will often pull out wide or drop deeper in an attempt to pick out runners with a pass, which could be good news for the likes of Bailey and Watkins.
Above: Danny Ings 2020/21 touch heat map
Injuries were a problem for Ings in the past, but he has only missed 11 Premier League games across the last two seasons.
INGS’ PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD:
| Season | Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2014/15 | Burnley | 35 (0) | 11 | 4 |
| 2015/16 | Liverpool | 6 (3) | 2 | 0 |
| 2016/17 | Liverpool | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 |
| 2017/18 | Liverpool | 8 (5) | 1 | 0 |
| 2018/19 | Liverpool | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 |
| 2018/19 | Southampton | 24 (1) | 7 | 3 |
| 2019/20 | Southampton | 38 (6) | 22 | 2 |
| 2020/21 | Southampton | 29 (3) | 12 | 4 |
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