West Ham United push to get £15million Danny Ings into the side to face Everton
Danny Ings could yet face Everton with West Ham “determined” to get him registered in time for the Premier League clash, Alex Crook reports.
The Hammers have agreed a deal to sign the Aston Villa forward for an initial £12million in a bid to help boost their faltering season, with the news emerging Thursday morning.
The crucial relegation six-pointer against Frank Lampard’s struggling Toffees is on Saturday (21 January), with both teams currently inside the relegation zone and level on points with bottom side Southampton, so the club are pushing to get their new man in the team for the game.
Posting on his personal Twitter account on Thursday afternoon (19 January) talkSPORT reporter Crook wrote: “WHUFC determined to get Ings registered in time to play v EFC on Saturday.
“£12m plus £3m seems like a very good buy for someone proven to score goals at the top level.”
Race against time
With Gianluca Scamacca currently out and all sorts of speculation now surrounding the future of Michail Antonio it is all the more important to get Ings available.
He leaves Villa Park as the club’s top scorer this season and his six in the Premier League is more than the Hammers pair have managed so far between them.
If he is through the doors in time to play against Everton it would be a major boost to West Ham, as the clash between two under-pressure managers is the best upcoming opportunity for points and to inflict damage on a rival in the relegation battle.
With a daunting run of Newcastle, Chelsea and Tottenham next up it is all the more of a reason to get Ings available for the weekend.
The club aren’t sitting still after the summer spend, which has so far done little to no good, and are still making moves to try to get the balance right.
If the 30-year-old forward can’t help in that regard quickly, then David Moyes is going to be struggling to hold onto his job and the club might be struggling to stay in the top flight.