Danny Ings signed for Aston Villa for a reported fee of around £25M to join Leon Bailey, Ashley Young and Emi Buendia in the list of Villa’s signings this summer after the sale of Jack Grealish.
It has been the case of money well spent so far for Aston Villa, with Ings already getting on the scoresheet twice and also providing an assist in the opening three matches of the 21-22 Premier League season.
Ings has been highly applauded for his goal-scoring abilities, as manager Dean Smith called him an outstanding player who has scored goals wherever he has played. He was signed for his goals and has started to deliver as early as possible, while also racking up good attacking statistics.
The black line in the above visual represents the median value for the entire Premier League in the given statistic, and Danny Ings has been better than the average in multiple statistics. The 29-year-old experienced striker has an xG per shot(0.34 per 90minutes) and shots on target percentage(75%) greater than 94% of the Premier League players.
It was a point of debate whether he would be the first choice or play second fiddle to Ollie Watkins, who was the Villans’ top scorer last season. With Watkins being injured, the first three matchdays have shown that Ings has full potential to be Smith’s first choice, as he also brings good passing statistics and a lot of experience to the table.
Ings has shown that he can also provide assists along with inventive smart passes and through balls. He has proven this so far in the season, being better than the average of the Premier League in the aforementioned stats. He has also shown that he is better at winning aerial duels than 70% of the Premier League players.
In the first three games of the season, Ings has proved that he can be a great target man up front, who can hold the ball and bring other teammates into play. So far, he has had great passing link-ups with both Buendia and McGinn, creating a decent xT(expected threat) from the passing between them. Both Watkins and Ings are goal scorers, but Ings’ experience and linkup play is something that might give him an edge over Watkins.
The shot map for Danny Ings shows his shots in all three matches, meaning that he has not taken many shots on goal. Along with being a goal scorer, he is also a team player who likes to bring his teammates into play. His experience gives him the composure to stay calm and decide when he should go for goal and when he should bring others into play. This quality of Ings is what is currently giving him an edge over Watkins.
Manager Dean Smith will continuously face the problem of choosing between the two strikers, but it is pretty certain that this is the kind of problem that every manager loves to face.
