Where Does Returning Danny Ings Fit in Under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool?
Just over five months ago, Liverpool were made to pay Burnley an initial fee of £6.5 million for striker Danny Ings, with an independent tribunal also ruling a potential £1.5 million in add-ons—but since that day, the 24-year-old has made just two senior appearances for the Reds, highlighting a dilemma on Merseyside.
As reported by the Press Association (h/t This is Anfield) in April, Ings' move from Turf Moor to Anfield on the expiry of his contract with the Clarets saw him set "a new record for [an initial] fee ordered by a tribunal."
"The figure eclipses the £3.5 million sum Chelsea had to pay Manchester City in 2009 for forward Daniel Sturridge," the report continues, and though the financial landscape of the Premier League has changed drastically since Sturridge left for Stamford Bridge, it still serves to magnify the significance of Ings' switch.
While Liverpool owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner reached for their joint chequebook, however, Ings remained on the treatment table, recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in October, days after Jurgen Klopp's arrival as manager.
That injury, the result of a freak accident under Klopp's watch at Liverpool's Melwood training ground, set in motion a chain of events that leaves Ings way down the pecking order in the German's attacking ranks. In the meantime, the Reds have scored 16 goals in six Premier League games in 2016/17, sitting in fourth.
But with JOE.co.uk's Tony Barrett revealing at the beginning of September that the Reds had been "empowered to reject approaches that valued [Ings] at £20 million," Klopp clearly has a plan for his hard-working No. 28.
So where does the returning England international fit in under Klopp, and when can he expect to be given the chance to shine in a Liverpool shirt?
"I think over the next few years he's going to improve into a top-class striker," Brendan Rodgers told reporters last September, hailing the progress the player had made in his first months as a Liverpool player.
The Ulsterman moved quickly to sign Ings from Burnley, sealing a deal with the Clarets at the beginning of June. The striker officially joined Liverpool a month later, with his strong form for the newly promoted side in 2014/15 fuelling Rodgers' urgency.
In his first season in the Premier League, Ings scored 11 goals and laid on another four in 37 appearances, averaging a goal contribution every 208 minutes. In a side battling relegation, this was hugely impressive.
This included a run of five goals and one assist in six games on the turn of the year, with Ings netting against Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United.
Such was the mark Ings made on the English top flight that Tottenham Hotspur bid £12 million in an attempt to derail Liverpool's pursuit at the end of 2014/15, with Sky Sports reporting Mauricio Pochettino's interest.
But Ings ended up on Merseyside and started positively, scoring three goals in nine appearances, averaging a strike every 179 minutes, including the final goal of Rodgers' reign in October's 1-1 draw away to Everton—his second career goal against the Toffees, though he is yet to taste victory over Liverpool's bitter rivals.
During this short, nine-game stretch Ings showcased his quality in attack, with his pace, intelligent movement, technical ability and indefatigable work rate aiding his progress in a number of positions, playing as a centre-forward, on both wings and in a withdrawn role as a supporting striker.
Though Klopp did not have the luxury of watching Ings in regular action for the Reds, as he explained to reporters in April, saying "if he is as good a player as he is a person we look forward to having him on the pitch," his character and application had impressed him.
Ings made his return from injury as a second-half substitute during May's end-of-season clash with West Brom at the Hawthorns, and he received a rapturous response from the travelling Kop.
But as the 2016/17 season has begun to play out, Ings' role under Klopp remains to be determined, with competition for places fierce.
So far this season, Klopp has fielded three different centre-forwards in Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Divock Origi, and having reshaped his tactical outlook around a 4-3-3 system, suffering just one defeat in eight games in all competitions, this is unlikely to change dramatically as the campaign unfolds.
Speaking as part of Sky Sports' Monday Night Football coverage at the end of September, Klopp explained why Firmino had been utilised as his primary striker in four of his five Premier League outings so far, highlighting the intensity of his system and saying "he has the physical ability to do it":
"He’s an instinctive player that’s really, really strong in these situations. He can play nearly all offensive positions, that’s how it is.
Roberto is in the centre because he has the physical ability to do it, because it’s the most intense job.
He’s involved on both sides, when we’re a little bit deeper he’s involved, so he always has a job to do.
"
This seems to have cemented Firmino as Klopp's first-choice striker in the majority of situations, though Sturridge's impressive output when called upon—scoring two goals and laying on two assists in six games so far, averaging a goal contribution every 61.8 minutes—ensures the No. 15 regularly stakes a claim.
Meanwhile, Origi's exceptional finish during the Reds' 3-0 victory away to Derby County in the third round of the EFL Cup, his second goal of the season so far, also served to highlight the Belgian's immense potential in the role.
Meanwhile, on the wings, summer signing Sadio Mane and chief playmaker Philippe Coutinho have been in immaculate form so far—with the former scoring three goals and assisting a further three in six games and the latter hitting four goals and registering three assists in seven outings, making them nearly indispensable.
This has left Ings to ply his trade with the Liverpool under-23s on a regular basis this season so far, but this produces as many negatives as it does positives.
As the Liverpool Echo's Neil Jones discussed after Ings' recent appearance for the under-23s in their 3-0 victory at home to Sunderland, his form as one of Michael Beale's overage players has been exemplary:
"When a senior player drops down to the under-23s, it is a test of character as much as it is quality. Do you see it as a demotion or an affront? Or do you take it as a challenge, an opportunity to press your claims—a game of football in which to showcase your talents?
[...]
If Klopp wanted proof [of the latter], he needs only to watch a video of this game.
Here, Ings worked and worked and worked. He talked and he ran, he showed, he linked and he tracked. And when the chance came, his quality took care of the rest.
"
Ings scored twice against the Black Cats at Prenton Park, with Jones predicting that a first-team reward would come in the near future, and applauding the striker's response to dropping down the ranks is worthwhile.
However, as academy forward Brooks Lennon told the Liverpool Echo shortly after, Ings' presence in Beale's squad could prove to be detrimental in the long term:
"I definitely like watching him when he comes down because I like the way he plays, obviously he’s been on the international level. I definitely have learned a lot just by watching him, learning different things every game, every practice.
On the other side it definitely is frustrating. When you train all week when game time comes you want to play. That’s how life works, you just gotta keep working hard and when your chance comes you’ve got to just capitalise.
"
This presents a difficult balance for Klopp, Beale and the Liverpool backroom staff to strike, as Ings has seemingly already proved his fitness on recovering from his ACL nightmare, turning out regularly throughout pre-season and now with the under-23s.
With just 27 first-team minutes against Derby to his name after the first six weeks of 2016/17, and the likes of Firmino, Sturridge, Origi, Coutinho and Mane all in his way as he pushes for a first-team berth, Ings' pathway looks to be a tough one to navigate.
Klopp has shown great faith in his No. 28, but with Liverpool more often than not playing just one game every week in the absence of European football, the prospect of genuine opportunity seems slim at this stage.
A talented player with an impeccable attitude, Ings may ironically be forced to wait for injury in Klopp's ranks before he is given his chance to repay that £8 million outlay from back in April.
Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents. Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk; quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklusby_ and Facebook here.
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