Can Danny Ings be an asset for Liverpool this season?

There can be little doubt the sensational Mohamed Salah, the elegant Roberto Firmino and the menacing Sadio Mané are the first names on a full-strength Liverpool team sheet.

Indeed, between now and the end of the season, the Reds will likely be reliant on their fearsome front line to lead their domestic and continental charge.

But Jurgen Klopp’s frustrating, if perhaps understandable, January obstinacy has left him facing a potentially serious problem.

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HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND – Tuesday, January 30, 2018: Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp reacts during the FA Premier League match between Huddersfield Town FC and Liverpool FC at the John Smith’s Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Klopp has chosen not to plug a Philippe Coutinho-shaped gap, exposing an alarming lack of attacking depth, particularly on the flanks.

In the event of a potentially disastrous injury to a member of that offensive triumvirate, the German could either launch a tactical reshuffle or turn to the understudies: Dominic Solanke and Danny Ings.

This, even for the more optimistic fans, is far from an ideal scenario. Regardless of what happens between now and May, supporters will expect two or more attacking reinforcements when the transfer window re-opens.

But in that time, Danny Ings, the forgotten man in some respects, has something to offer Liverpool.

Crucially, he has the attributes to succeed in this wonderfully unique Jurgen Klopp side. Ings combines impressive pace with a magnificent work rate, and is willing to do the defensive dirty work as well, clearly important for a manager who criticised his front three for failing to track back against West Brom.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Sunday, January 14, 2018: Liverpool’s Danny Ings during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

His attitude, said to be impeccable even through his injury hell, has also earnt him significant praise from the Liverpool backroom staff. Ings recently revealed that he was pushing to play for the Under 23s in a bid to regain fitness rather than simply fulfilling an obligation. The desire is unquestionable.

It is not difficult to see, then, why the manager is an admirer. Faced with a decision to keep either Daniel Sturridge, a notoriously clinical finisher who was among the best in Europe not so long ago, and Ings, who he had seen play only a handful of games, Klopp bravely chose the latter.

In fact, he went as far as to say after the victory at Huddersfield that Ings would only be allowed to move on if he were “unconscious” on deadline day.

One could argue that Sturridge’s heart was elsewhere, but Klopp’s leap of faith should not be underestimated. A loan to relegation-threatened Stoke or Newcastle would essentially have put him right back where he started, but now his hopes of succeeding at Liverpool have just about been kept alive.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Sunday, January 14, 2018: Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp and Danny Ings after the 2-3 defeat during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The boss believes that Ings represents sufficient cover for regular frontman Firmino, his side’s most integral player.

Ings cannot rival the goalscoring capacity of the Reds’ present forwards but is now, he claims, in the “shape of his life” after recovering fitness, and Klopp, a renowned man-manager, should be able to extract the very best out of him.

While Liverpool are forced to play noticeably slower with the more traditional target man Solanke leading the line, they can continue to operate at full throttle with Ings on the field.

Moreover, unlike Solanke, whose career remains in its relative infancy, he has proven himself capable of finding the net at the top level.

He very much earnt a promotion to the Premier League elite by shining in a dismal Burnley side, and was perhaps the sole shining light amidst the overarching gloom of Brendan Rodgers’ final games in charge.

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – Sunday, December 17, 2017: Liverpool’s Danny Ings during the FA Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Who knows how much he would have figured if he had avoided injury in Klopp’s very first training session? That, by all accounts, was a devastating blow.

Now, though, the two-year nightmare appears to be over and he is finally fit, looking to get his career back on track and ensure his evident potential does not come to nothing.

Klopp on Danny Ings leaving in this window: "No chance that Ingsy is on the market tomorrow – only if I'm unconscious!"

— Anfield HQ (@AnfieldHQ) January 30, 2018

It is, of course, feasible that Ings will depart this summer, but he must be backed to the hilt whenever he wears the red shirt.

Fans should not be rolling their eyes and unleashing a deep sigh when they see him readying on the touchline, for this is a player whose injection of vitality and optimism could prove just the proverbial kick up the backside we desperately need at times.

Even on that wretched Monday night at Swansea, he looked bright off the bench as he battled to snatch a point for his side. In his twenty minutes on the pitch, he was able outshine most of those who had started.

SWANSEA, WALES – Monday, January 22, 2018: Liverpool’s Danny Ings shoots during the FA Premier League match between Swansea City FC and Liverpool FC at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Fans made restless by the club’s transfer inactivity will have little patience for Ings, but the stage seems set for the Englishman to rediscover his shooting boots after returning to the fold at long last.

Many were bewildered by the decision to show Sturridge the exit door, but whilst he looked off the pace and uninterested on occasion, the industrious Ings seems a player capable of flourishing under Klopp’s tutelage.

A spell on the sidelines left Ings anonymous, with many fans and even some high-profile journalists readily dismissing him after only limited glimpses of his talent.

But this is a player who, believe it or not, can make a difference.

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Source: anfieldhq.com