SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
Back in 2018, Danny Ings joined Southampton from Liverpool in a deal worth £20 million, despite Crystal Palace also expressing interest in the striker.
It was a rejection that lingered in Roy Hodgson’s mind even before the two sides met in December last year, a match in which Ings scored in.
The Daily Mail quote the ex-England boss as saying: ‘I don’t know if I forgive him for not coming to us when we wanted to sign him and he went to Southampton instead, I’ve still got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about that one.’
Impressively, Ings has netted 38 goals in 75 games since rejecting the Eagles and signing for Southampton, which should leave the south Londoners feeling absolutely gutted.
In 2020, the ex-Burnley striker has been so good that he’s even managed to score the same amount of league goals as Lionel Messi.
Transfermarkt shows that, across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns, Ings has netted 15 Premier League goals in 2020 for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
In Messi’s case, Transfermarkt’s stats from his 2019/20 and 2020/21 exploits show that the Barcelona forward also has 15 La Liga goals in 2020.
Ings is well and truly in his peak, and goal-shy Crystal Palace – who have the third-fewest shots per game in the Premier League with 8.4 efforts every 90 minutes – would’ve seriously benefitted from his services.
It is a problem that still needs a solution for the Eagles.
Michy Batshuayi was signed on loan as a temporary stop-gap, although Hodgson certainly requires an Ings-type goal-getter after watching his side score just 31 goals in 38 Premier League games last season.
