Danny Ings believes his goals and experience are just what West Ham United need.
The 30-year-old England international striker arrived in east London on Friday morning, and completed his transfer from Aston Villa in time to make his Irons debut at home to Everton in the Premier League this weekend.
Before then, Ings sat down with another man who made the switch from Lion to Iron, and vice-versa – West Ham cult hero James Collins – to talk about the Club, the prospect of making his bow in front of a capacity London Stadium crowd, and his target to score the goals to help the Hammers climb the Premier League table.
Danny, welcome to West Ham United! Let’s start with how the move came about?
“To be honest, it’s probably the quickest one that I’ve had. I was just sat at home putting my little one down and my agent called me and said ‘We’re going down to London’ so yeah, it was very quick, but I’ve been in the game a long time and I know exactly how it works.”
I worked at the Club for a long time and there are some great people here, so I’m sure they’ve made you feel welcome?
“Yeah, definitely. As I said, it’s been so quick but everybody I’ve met so far has been fantastic and it’s important to try and settle in as quick as you can. So as soon as I come down it’s important for me to meet everyone, remember faces in try and settle in as quickly as I can to get on with the important stuff, which is on the pitch.”
You start with a home game against Everton on Saturday at London Stadium in front of 62,500 fans, so are you looking forward to that?
“Yes, definitely. It’s a massive game. It’s a game that when you when you do sign for a new club, you want to play a part of, so coming down here so fast and trying to get everything sorted and done and hopefully I can play a part in that game.”
It’s Everton and I’ve looked at the stats and you’ve got a great record against them, so I expect they you’re looking forward to playing against them? They’re struggling so hopefully you can get off to a good start?
“Yeah, it’s a team that, over the years, I’ve always seemed to do well against, and I’ve got a good amount of goals. I think I’ve scored seven or eight goals against them so, yes, it’s just one of those teams that you enjoy playing against. Scoring another one on Saturday would be great. It’s one of those teams that you just enjoy playing against and, yeah, I have scored a few goals.”
When you see the West Ham squad, with the likes of Bowen, Benrahma, Paquetá and Fornals in it, you must be excited by the prospect of plenty of quality service?
“That would be great. You know, for me, it’s so important now to spend as much time with the lads [as possible] and get to know them and figure each other out and figure out how they want me to be as as a player and for me to do the same with them. I’ve come here to try and score as many goals as I can and to help in the best way that I can and hopefully I can bring something different.”
You will know our captain Declan Rice from playing for England, too, and he’s a massive character at the Club – are you looking forward to lining up with him again?
“Definitely yeah. He’s a top, top player. He’s such a talent and, for still such a young age, you wouldn’t believe it, the maturity that he has. He’s a great guy and even better player, so I’m really looking forward to being with him day-in and day-out.”
West Ham fans would have seen you scoring plenty of goals, and we know you’re a striker who knows where the goal is and works hard for your team. What would you say your major strengths are?
“I think, because of my experience in this league, I’m hoping that off the pitch, I can help as much as I can. I know there are quite a lot lads here from all around the world, so hopefully, I can share my experiences and try and help the team as much as I can. And on the pitch, as you said, the main attribute that I have is to score goals, but not only that, to link up the play, to just set off the press and do everything I can for the team.”
How important will your experience of the Premier League be as we look to climb the table?
“Everybody in the football world knows that the squad that West Ham have – even before I was here to looking from afar – it’s too good to be to be where were we. If you look up the last few seasons, I think sixth and seventh finishes in the league, which is incredible. Every team goes through patches. Before I’ve come in, we’ve signed new players and sometimes it takes time to settle in and get used to the league and it’s very difficult. But now, with the squad that we have here, I’m really looking forward to working as hard as I can with them to go up the league.”
