Liverpool Transfer News: Big-Money Deals Lined Up in Easter Sunday Rumours

Despite being their leading goalscorer and undisputed best player this season, Burnley could be set to push Danny Ings toward Liverpool as the striker continues to weigh up his options.

Ings’ contract is due to expire at the end of the campaign, and he looks set to leave Turf Moor. As noted by Jason Burt of The Telegraph, the Reds, Real Sociedad, Borussia Monchengladbach and Schalke are all reportedly keen on the Englishman, but the Clarets will be hoping he chooses Anfield as his destination.

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As noted in Burt’s piece, that’s because Burnley would only receive the meagre sum of £197,000 should Ings go abroad, while a move to Liverpool would likely see a tribunal set a far more substantial fee for the forward.

As we can see here, courtesy of WhoScored.com, Ings has been exceptional for Burnley so far this season:

It’s easy to see why there is so much interest in the player. Ings is an exciting forward who plays with an engrossing flair. As he’s illustrated in earnest throughout the campaign, the 22-year-old also has no problem finding the back of the net at the highest level.

For Liverpool, he’d be an astute acquisition. As we can see here, courtesy of WhoScored.com, the Burnley man has been much better than the vast majority of Liverpool’s centre-forward options in 2014/15:

	Ings	Sturridge	Balotelli	Lambert	Sterling
Apps (Sub)	27	7 (5)	8 (6)	5 (14)	28 (1)
Goals	9	4	1	2	6
Assists	4	1	0	0	7
Shots per Game	2.7	3.3	4.5	0.8	2.4
Key Passes per Game	1.1	0.7	0.6	0.4	2.1

Ings may not be of the very highest calibre, but he’s the kind of player who could thrive at Anfield. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has helped develop a lot of young English players since he took his current job, and while a move abroad would help enrich the forward’s technical game, the chance to join a club such as Liverpool is one that he may find tough to turn down.

From the Reds’ perspective, Ings would certainly add some depth to a position where the club have been remarkably short this season. Daniel Sturridge proved last year that he can flourish with a capable strike partner, and although the Burnley man isn’t in the same bracket as Luis Suarez, he’s a major upgrade on the club’s current options.

Arsenal Open Talks With Theo Walcott

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As noted by George Bellshaw of Metro, Liverpool have recently been linked with a move with Theo Walcott. But as the piece states, according to The Sun, Arsenal will soon begin contract talks with the winger over extending his current a £100,000-a-week deal.

Walcott is reportedly looking for some clarity over his role in this Arsenal squad before committing his future to the club.

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As noted by Henry Winter of The Telegraph, the Gunners have recently been linked with a potential move for Raheem Sterling, but Wenger cited Walcott as a reason why they aren’t interested:

There will be some underpinning concerns from the player’s perspective, however. After all, since returning from a long injury layoff, he’s struggled to nail down a place in the team. Though Walcott has had to make do with cameos off the bench for the majority of 2015, the Gunners have looked irresistible going forward.

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The glimpses of the player we’ve seen for both club and country haven’t been that impressive of late. Indeed, as we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, he was in wretched form for England in their recent friendly against Italy:

Walcott has a massive decision to make. He clearly loves playing for Arsenal and is a very popular figure among the Emirates Stadium faithful, but at the moment, he looks well short of the standard required to make it into this Gunners team.

With game time clearly needed to rediscover his very best level, a transfer away from the club may be the best option at this juncture. Liverpool, you suspect, would love to get him on board.