SWANSEA, WALES - Monday, May 19, 2014: England's Danny Ings in action against Wales during the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group 1 match at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Liverpool deal for Danny Ings all but done – Reports

Danny Ings will be a Liverpool player this summer barring any last-minute hitch, according to reports.

SWANSEA, WALES - Monday, May 19, 2014: England's Danny Ings in action against Wales during the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group 1 match at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The 22-year-old Burnley striker is out of contract this summer and has been strongly linked with a move to Anfield since January.

Some reports recently have suggested interest from Manchester United in the Englishman, but since United signed Memphis Depay, Liverpool look like getting Ings.

Bizarrely, Brendan Rodgers claimed on Friday morning that Liverpool were never interested in Depay – despite PSV confirming that the player held talks with the club. Perhaps Liverpool merely invited the Dutchman over for a chat about the weather.

“It [signing Depay] was not something that we were interested in,” claimed Rodgers.

Quite why you’d speak to a player but have no interest in signing that player is a bit odd. Almost as odd as Rodgers not having an interest in signing a 21-goal 21-year-old talented Dutch attacker who can operate in a front three.

If Liverpool decided their priorities lie elsewhere – eg. a player more capable of playing through the centre – then fair enough, but to claim no interest in Depay after signing him is just embarrassing.

Alas, Depay is gone and Ings now looks set to be completed.

“Barring any last-minute hitch, Burnley’s Danny Ings will be one of the additions when his contract ends in July,” writes Chris Bascombe in The Telegraph.

There’s no doubt Ings is decent player, but he is a player who has always played in a front two throughout his career so far, so there has to be a question mark over whether he could operate as a centre-forward in Rodgers’ preferred 4-3-3 formation. There’s also the question over whether he has the quality to make the step up from Burnley to Liverpool.

Ings will be joined by Divock Origi, but one player who won’t start next season is Daniel Sturridge, after the England forward underwent another operation – that will see him miss pre-season and not return to training until September.

Without Sturridge, Liverpool are prioritising the signing of another centre-forward, and will allow Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini and Mario Balotelli to leave, explains Bascombe and Dominic King.

So Liverpool’s attacking options next summer will consist of Sturridge, Ings, Origi and, hopefully, one high-class, experienced centre-forward – who that is and quite how Liverpool actually manage to sign such a player of that desired calibre remains to be seen. It could be a long summer.