Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed Danny Ings is set to leave the club, and explained his reasoning for giving the move the green light.
As per The Telegraph, Ings is set to seal a £15m move to West Ham this week, ending a relatively brief spell at Villa where he contributed 14 goals and eight assists in 52 appearances.
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While he always demonstrated full commitment and determination and scored some important goals, it was arguably also a constant headache to figure out how he would fit into the side on a consistent basis.
Ollie Watkins has been favoured by Emery since he took charge to lead the line for Villa, and while Ings has made crucial impacts under the Spaniard too, he has seemingly decided that he doesn’t necessarily fit into his plans and style of play moving forward.
In turn, he provided his reasoning for the decision in his press conference on Thursday, after confirming that Ings is indeed set to join West Ham.
“He will sign with West Ham,” he told the media, as per Villa’s official Twitter. “His commitment was amazing here, with his teammates and he helped to better our performance. I decided to let him go, because I think for him it was a very good offer, for the club as well.”
It’s a fair answer as Ings will ultimately likely have a bigger role with the Hammers, while Villa have recouped a decent fee for a player who turns 31 in July, and is one of the highest earners at the club despite playing a limited role.
With that in mind, it’s an understandable decision, but it’s hoped that we do have plans to bring in a reinforcement to offer more firepower, in addition to the signing of youngster Jhon Duran who will be a long-term solution and will need time to adapt.
Meanwhile, Emery also commented on the futures of two other Villa players, as he conceded that both Marvelous Nakamba and Morgan Sanson can leave if they find the right opportunities this month.
“Nakamba and Sanson have the possibility to leave,” Emery added. “If they leave, the idea is to maybe add one more player as a midfielder.”
Nakamba has failed to feature at all since Emery arrived, and so that decision is self-explanatory. In contrast, Sanson has been more involved for Villa under the Spanish tactician than he has been for some time, and it had been hoped that he could build on that and still prove to be a valuable part of the squad.
However, this is now the second time Emery has confirmed that the Frenchman can leave if the chance arises, and so it remains to be seen if an acceptable offer – for both Villa and Sanson – comes in before the deadline later this month.
