Jurgen Klopp has claimed that he only sold Danny Ings at Liverpool due to a lack of playing time for the striker.
Ings spent three years at Liverpool, but injuries limited him to just 25 appearances at the club, before being sold to Southampton. Now at Aston Villa, the 30-year-old is preparing to face his old club on Boxing Day.
This was something Klopp addressed in his pre-match press conference this afternoon. Asked specifically about Ings’ threat, the Liverpool boss clarified exactly why he let him leave Anfield.
“That Ingsy didn’t make it in the end, let me say it like this, here was just because of injuries. And a player at his age needs to and wants to play regularly and we couldn’t offer that in the moment,” Klopp explained.
“That’s the only reason, the quality was never in doubt, not for a second. He showed it at Southampton, and showing it now at Aston Villa, so that’s clear.
“When he’s on the pitch he’s always a threat, he’s a real goal getter, in a pure sense, and that makes him really dangerous for each opponent.”
Take a look at what you could have won, Danny Ings
Ings’ Liverpool career should be a source of regret for both he and the club. Of course, that wasn’t really anyone’s fault. Nobody can predict that a player will suffer two season ending injuries one year after the other.
But still, perhaps the player himself could have been just slightly more patient. Klopp was obviously a big fan of Ings, and he would likely have been given Divock Origi’s place in the squad for the 2018/19 season.
Without Divock’s legendary contributions, who can say where Liverpool would have ended up that season. But keeping things simple, it’s likely that Ings would have ended up playing a decent amount of football and winning a Champions League winners medal.
Following that, you’d have to think he would have stayed to become a Premier League winner the season after, too. The England man had the quality to be an excellent back-up for the forward line in a position that Liverpool don’t really have – a goal poacher.
Instead, Ings was sold to Southampton in 2018. That he excelled there has only deepened the sense that he and Liverpool missed a golden opportunity together.
Now at Villa following a £25m move in summer 2021, he hasn’t quite hit the same heights as at St Mary’s. But as Klopp mentions, he’s still a big threat and one Liverpool will have to watch very closely on Monday afternoon.