Everton line up second bid for Prem-proven striker as Lampard battles Vieira for season-defining coup (original) (raw)

Everton are weighing up making a second bid to sign Aston Villa striker Danny Ings, but they could face stiff competition from Crystal Palace, according to reports.

The Toffees made an initial loan offer for the Englishman last Wednesday, but it was rejected by Unai Emery, who would allegedly prefer to sell him permanently if he does depart.

It is no secret that Frank Lampard is desperate for attacking reinforcements at the moment, so Evertonians will be hoping that they can beat Palace to Ings’ signature this month.

As reported by The Sun, Everton and Palace are keen on signing the former Liverpool striker, with the Toffees making a contract offer of £125,000 per week.

However, it will ultimately come down to which of the two teams offers the highest sum for Ings and with Everton currently grappling with financial constraints, their budget is limited compared to the Eagles’.

Aston Villa’s asking price is not mentioned in the report, but it is believed to be in the region of £15m.

Since joining from Southampton in August 2021, Ings has been a solid player at Villa Park.

Overall, in 51 appearances across all competitions, the former England international has netted 14 times, also providing eight assists in the process. This season, he has been in decent form too, scoring seven goals in 20 matches for the Villans.

Ings has plenty of experience under his belt after previous stints with Bournemouth, Burnley, Liverpool and Southampton and has always scored goals fairly consistently.

But it looks like Emery is looking to sell the forward in favour of bringing in a younger striker option from his former club Villarreal, or, they may even make an ambitious offer for France World Cup star Marcus Thuram, for who competition will be fierce.

Everton desperate to beat Palace to former enemy

Everton currently find themselves in a dire league position, sitting in 18th place after winning just three of their opening 18 matches. With only 15 points at this point, this is their worst start to the season since 1994.

They almost went down last season and at this same stage were four points better off and arguably had better players, such as Richarlison, at their disposal.

With the Toffees’ number nine Dominic Calvert-Lewin once again struggling with injury problems and summer signing Neal Maupay scoring just once in 15 appearances, it’s clear that they need a quality striker through the door this month.

Ings could indeed be a good option for Lampard, as someone who has scored goals regularly in the Premier League.

However, his dubious injury record may concern some Evertonians, as they already have plenty of players on big wages who don’t play enough matches.

For Crystal Palace, on the other hand, they could also do with some more goal-scoring options.

Patrick Vieira’s preferred centre-forward this season has been Odsonne Edouard, who has scored five goals in 17 appearances for the Eagles this season.

Wilfried Zaha has been in good form once more. Operating generally from the wing, he has scored six and is currently Palace’s top scorer.

Despite this, it seems the French manager is keen to bolster his attack this month and if they make a sizeable bid for Ings, it would be a big blow for Everton.

However, the English striker turns 31 this year, so they would both be wise not to overspend on someone who is only likely to be at the top of his game for another couple of seasons.