Given that his prime for scoring goals is over, maybe it’s time for the Hammers to let go of the seasoned talisman.
For many years, West Ham United has struggled to score goals, and their persistent inability to buy a top-tier center-forward has been a concern.
This season, Jarrod Bowen has been in unbelievable form. Following his hat-trick against Brentford at the beginning of March, David Moyes said that Bowen might become the first player in Hammer history to score 20 Premier League goals in a single season. To accomplish this, he would need to score six goals with nine games remaining.
In addition, Mohammed Kudus is an outstanding player, while Michail Antonio excels as the weathered veteran who dominates defenders with strength and cunning maneuvers.
However, a recent analysis of high-profile transfers for center-forwards like Gianluca Scamacca and Sebastien Haller finds that more has to be done to find and sign the greatest attackers to lead the attack.
That player was intended to be Danny Ings, an England international with three caps who has shown success in the Premier League and is naturally good in front of goal. However, he has not been as successful as he once was.
Reasons for Danny Ings’ struggles at West Ham
Journalist Joe Prince-Wright dubbed Ings a “goal machine” after he amassed 46 goals and ten assists from 100 matches with Southampton in the most productive stretch of his nomadic Premier League career. Ings is considered one of the league’s best strikers.
With his unique, twisting sprinting style—which sports performance analyst Jonas Dodoo referred to as a “corkscrew action”—Ings kept defenders off their feet. This allowed him to lean into faster bursts of acceleration, which effectively allowed him to weave around backlines and wreak havoc with his clinical shot-taking.
He moved from the south coast to Aston Villa, but he didn’t stay long in the Midlands. In January 2023, he moved once more, this time for a fee of £15 million to West Ham. The 31-year-old appeared to provide the consistent goal flow that Moyes’ team, hindered by Scamacca’s injury and lack of form, sorely needed.
With just four goals from 46 games for West Ham, Ings is going through one of his least productive phases of his professional career. His most recent goal, which helped West Ham salvage a point against Burnley in the Premier League, was his lone goal of the year. It was a good finish, though.
However, why has this occurred? Despite not settling at Villa, Ings scored six goals in the Premier League from nine starts for the team during the first half of the 2022/23 campaign.
In addition, he is in the top 20% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues for shot-creating actions, the top 25% for assists, the top 24% for successful take-ons, the top 12% for tackles, the top 10% for interceptions, and the top 20% for clearances within 90 minutes over the previous season.
Although Roshane Thomas of The Athletic has pointed out why the £125k-per-week star is trying to deceive in east London, he’s not a bad player. Thomas has been thinking about stylistic problems with Moyes’ tactical setup.
For Danny Ings, I don’t think this system is effective. He is frequently too solitary up front. aside from his two goals against Nottingham Forest, hasn’t quite clicked. Antonio plays well as a lone striker because of his high effort rate. But Ings has had difficulty.
Given Ings’ hefty salary, West Ham could be prudent to let him go in the summer. Additionally, given Moyes’s inconsistent history of buying good frontmen in the past, it’s possible that he will look to the academy and identify a prospect in Callum Marshall who would let Ings go.
Why Danny Ings might be replaced by Callum Marshall
Although Marshall, a 19-year-old Northern Irishman, may be the best of the bunch, Divin Mubama is currently the most well-known West Ham young player. In January, Marshall’s impressive performances for the U21s earned him a loan move to West Bromwich Albion, and he also signed a long-term contract with the Irons.
Marshall did, in fact, amass an incredible 16 goals and three assists from just 10 Premier League 2 matches this season, earning Thomas’ commendation for his “brilliant form.”
Granted, he has only appeared in three games for the promotion-chasing Baggies thus far, and according to Sofascore, he has only won 33% of his ground battles. This may highlight the need for further physical improvement.
The Championship is a hard, muscular, and relentless league, but Marshall has all the makings of a top-tier goal scorer in the future. West Ham has taken careful and measured steps to sign him to a long-term contract and provide him vital experience at this early point of his career.
Marshall’s “insane” attacking abilities have impressed U23 scout and reporter Antonio Mango, and it appears only a matter of time until he develops into a center-forward capable of starting at the London Stadium.
As he continues to learn valuable lessons at the Hawthorns and gains experience with West Brom, he may return to the capital with the self-assurance and advancement necessary to be successful in the Premier League.
Ings isn’t really needed given Bowen’s goal-scoring ability and Antonio’s continued success as a reliable presence in the final third. If Marshall is given the opportunity to compete under Moyes’ tutelage, he might just bring the prolific dimension that Ings isn’t providing.
Associated Subjects
FIRST LEAGUE OF WEST HAM UNITED