Liverpool striker Danny Ings says he is looking forward to the return of attacking team-mate Daniel Sturridge this season.
Despite the prospect of even more competition for a place in Brendan Rodgers’ first team, Danny Ings says he is relishing the return of Daniel Sturridge this season.
Sturridge is currently recovering from hip surgery undertaken in Boston this summer, but is back training at Melwood.
Speaking to LiverpoolFC.com, Ings said he is looking forward to learning from the former Chelsea striker.
“He’s a fantastic striker, he scores many goals, he’s sharp, he works hard, so it will great to have him back,” he said.
“He’s another player that I can learn from.
“He’s been doing it at the top level for many years now so it’s great to have him back and I’m looking forward to working with him.
“I think everybody here has different qualities as strikers and it’s only better for all of us to learn from each other – and especially for me to learn off them, the more experienced strikers here.
“It’s great to have so many good strikers at the club for me to learn from.”
Sturridge’s return will hinder Ings’ chances of a starting role at Liverpool, with the 26-year-old a guaranteed starter alongside £32.5 million man Christian Benteke.
That Ings is instead focussing on what he can learn from Sturridge speaks volumes for his mentality.
Having rejected the chance to take one of the club’s more iconic shirt numbers, instead choosing to wear No. 28 “to take that pressure off,” Ings is continuing to show his humility.
After making the move from Burnley to Merseyside this summer, the 22-year-old is clearly looking to keep his head down, develop his game under Brendan Rodgers and earn his place in time.
Compared to the host of self-important young footballers in the Premier League—with Saido Berahino’s deadline-day Twitter tantrum the perfect example of this—Ings is a breath of fresh air.
With an encouraging debut performance in Liverpool’s 3-0 loss against West Ham United, he showed what he can offer to Rodgers on the field, too.
The intensity and work rate that he constructs his game on will have endeared him to the manager already.
Learning from the likes of Sturridge and Benteke can only improve his ability further.
Emulating Sturridge’s goalscoring record will be a tough task, but Ings is well placed to do so if he continues his grounded approach at Liverpool.
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