It would be an understatement to say that Danny Ings has been Southampton’s go-to man this season.
The former Liverpool attacker has scored five goals in his past four games in all competitions for the Saints following his strike against Wolves this weekend and has been the only Southampton player to score for the south coast side in the Premier League since the 20th September, when James Ward-Prowse netted in a 3-1 loss to Bournemouth.
Indeed, this purple patch has been encouraging for Ings, who is already two goals off his total strike tally for Southampton last season as stats from Transfermarkt show, yet the Saints over-reliance on the 27-year-old attacker could become a problem for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
Although Ings admitted to the Premier League’s official website via The Southern Daily Echo that there is a good atmosphere in the dressing room, with the striker saying: “For any player, it’s important to have a positive mentality around the group, whether you’re starting or not starting. I really feel that’s important for a dressing room and I feel we have a great dressing room,” the number of game-changers in the squad are worrying low.
Moussa Djenepo is still recovering from injury after a blistering start to life in the Premier League that saw the Mali international win the league’s Goal of the Month for September, and summer signing Che Adams, while bright in some games, is yet to find the back of the net as stats from Transfermarkt show.
With Southampton currently sitting 17th in the Premier League table after nine games, the south coast side are in desperate need of points with over a quarter of the season now in the books, and the club will need more than Ings to get the wins the Saints need if they are to distance themselves from the bottom pack in the English top-flight.
