West Ham has agreed on a £15m transfer fee with Aston Villa for Danny Ings. He will join the London club from Villa, where he has six Premier League goals in 18 games this season. He will give Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio and the rest of the Hammers’ front line more competition. This season, West Ham has scored just 15 goals in 19 league games, and their troubles in the Premier League are mostly attributable to their struggles in front of goal. They are currently ranked 18th in the standings, just one goal ahead of Southampton and Everton, who they will play this weekend. Ings, 30, transferred from Southampton to Villa in 2021 for £25 million, but he hasn’t quite reached the same heights at Villa Park as he did at St. Mary’s.
If West Ham signs two forwards during this window, they might take offers for striker Michail Antonio into consideration. Terem Moffi’s transfer to West Ham has not been completely ruled out, even if Danny Ings is almost finished moving there. Lorient would accept West Ham’s £25 million offer, but the player is still unsure about the transfer, a source said. Antonio has piqued the interest of the Premier League.
“All of it is handled by my agency, and if something occurs, it occurs. I have to be mindful of the fact that I’m now at West Ham,” Antonio said. “Anything that changes, changes. We have a striker in place and may be considering additional strikers because we aren’t currently doing it.”
Villa and Ings both have a propensity for blowing hot and cold. Given his advanced age and history of injuries, selling now rather than letting his contract expire may be the best course of action, but Villa have struggled mightily in front of goal this season. Ings has scored six of their 22 league goals, which is fewer than both Leeds and Leicester combined. More than any other Villa player, that is. The closest is Leon Bailey with four.
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