It has been a great start to the season in front of goal for Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side have scored ten goals in the Premier League this term, the joint third-highest amongst English top-flight clubs. According to Understat, they are slightly underachieving when it comes to expected goals, with a tally of 11.68xG, the third-best in the league.
For this goalscoring form, the Villans have their deadly striker duo of Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran to thank. Between them, they have seven of Villa’s league goals and assists, with England’s Watkins scoring three goals and the Columbian Duran netting four, as per Sofascore.
With Villa having quality depth up front, it is unsurprising that they moved on a former centre-forward over 18 months ago, a decision which has proven to be the correct choice given the steep decline in his value.
How much Villa sold Danny Ings for
The player in question here is former England international Danny Ings. He joined the club initially from Southampton in 2021, for a fee of around £25m, where he impressed and managed to get himself back in the England side.
However, it did not really work out for him at Villa Park, and he struggled to find the back of the net as much as he did in a Saints shirt. The 32-year-old played two seasons for the Villans, scoring just 14 goals and grabbing eight assists in 52 games.
Season
Competition
Games
Goals
Assists
2021/22
Premier League
30
7
6
2021/22
FA Cup
1
0
0
2022/23
Premier League
18
6
0
2022/23
EFL Cup
2
1
1
2022/23
FA Cup
1
0
1
The former Burnley centre-forward struggled to nail down a starting spot at Villa Park and played just 3026 minutes for the club in total, which is equivalent to just 33.6 full 90-minute games. He was very much a bit-part player during his time at the club.
With that in mind, Villa did well to move him on to West Ham for a fee of £15m in February 2023. It was a move which coincided with the signing of Duran from Chicago Fire. It was a smart piece of business from the Villans, given the value of the striker has since plummeted.
Danny Ings' current market value
Now struggling to get into the West Ham team, Ings’ value has dropped considerably since he joined the club just over 18 months ago. As per Transfermarkt, the striker is now valued at just £6.6m, and it is no surprise when looking at his record for the Hammers.
Market Movers
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He has played 55 times for the East London outfit, just two more occasions than the number of times he played in the claret and blue of Villa. However, he has managed to score just five goals so far, and has registered only two assists.
One of those strikes did come this season, a last-gasp equalising goal in the 95th minute to rescue a point against Fulham at Craven Cottage, after the Hammers’ London rivals went 1-0 up in the 24th minute.
Despite his lack of game time in the claret and blue of West Ham, the former England international, who has three caps for the Three Lions, has tasted European success at the club.
Ings was part of the Hammers squad that won the 2022/23 Europa Conference League, beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final. Frustratingly for the striker, he did not get on the pitch that day.
Overall, it was a superb piece of business from Villa to cash in on Ings before his value dropped any further. Had they waited longer, they might have missed out on signing Duran, and might have only been able to sell him for a minimal fee.
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