Newcastle Target Liverpool Striker as Alternative Attacking Option for New Season
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez is reportedly targeting Liverpool striker Danny Ings as an alternative attacking option for the upcoming season.
The Northern Echo reported last Autumn that the Magpies were keen on bringing the injury-hit forward to the north-east on loan from Liverpool, but the former Burnley striker rejected the move in order to fight for his place at Anfield.
But the Merseyside club's success in the last year, especially on the European stage, has appeared to show Ings his future may lie elsewhere. Liverpool have an abundance of attacking options, with the fearsome front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah as well as England youngsters Dominic Solanke and Rhian Brewster among their ranks.
The Liverpool Echo report that the striker is not being forced out of the door by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, but if Ings wants a move away, the club are willing to listen to offers.
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Ings moved to Liverpool from Burnley in the summer of 2015 and has scored four goals in an injury-plagued three years. Ings suffered back to back knee ligament injuries, effectively ruling him out of the previous two seasons - the striker has only made 24 appearances for the Reds.
Old-school targetman Soloman Rondon and Nicolai Jorgensen are also on Benitez’s radar but would not come cheap, so the report claims that Benitez has put together a contingency plan – one that involves Ings.
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Meanwhile, Sky Sports are reporting that the Tyneside club have rejected a £25m bid from West Ham for captain Jamaal Lascelles. The defender caught the eye in 2017/18 and was pivotal in the clubs mid-table finish.
