View: Aston Villa stand to benefit greatly from sticking with Danny Ings
Aston Villa have confirmed that striker Danny Ings will join them on their pre-season tour of Australia despite rumours surrounding his future.
Ings has only been at Villa for a single season, arriving from Southampton in 2021, but had a difficult first season at Villa Park.
He scored seven goals across his 31 appearances last season and often drew the ire of fans, leading to The Sun among others to tip him for the exit door.
As the season wore on, it became increasingly obvious that Steven Gerrard favoured Ollie Watkins over Ings, with the 29-year-old often being the one dropped if he shifted the attack.
However, it is important to view his season in context and look beyond his goal tally in order to see his quality.
More than just goals
There are two important factors to consider before passing judgement on Ings’ form at Villa last season.
Firstly, while he did play in 31 games, he very rarely completed matches and only completed 90 minutes eight times throughout the season.
Only 22 of his appearances were starts, making his goal rate just under one goal every three starts which is a perfectly acceptable strike rate.
Then you have to consider his assist numbers, with Ings being Villa’s joint-most creative player with six assists over the course of the season.
This puts him level with Emi Buendia, who also shone despite limited game time, and ahead of the likes of John McGinn and Philippe Coutinho.
It should also be noted that his first season at Southampton took a very similar path to this.
In 237 fewer minutes of football (FBRef) during the 2018-19 season, Ings scored seven goals and got three assists before grabbing 22 goals in his second season
By reframing his numbers and keeping the context of his Southampton days in mind, it is clear that Ings still has much more to give at Villa and they are right to persist with him.
In other Aston Villa news, the club have set a £20million price tag on Carney Chukwuemeka this summer.