David Moyes is excited to add Danny Ings to his forward options at West Ham United.
Ings completed a move to the Hammers from fellow Premier League side Aston Villa on Friday, signing until the summer of 2025 and adding further attacking potency to the squad.
Manager Moyes told his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's Premier League home fixture with Everton of his happiness at bringing a player of Ings’ stature to east London, citing the 30-year-old’s goalscoring record and all-round quality.
“I think he’s exactly what we need,” Moyes said. “We need someone who knows the league. We’ve been linked with a few players to try and bring in and strengthen, but I wanted to bring in somebody who wasn’t a risk as far as knowing the league. Someone who knows how to score and has scored plenty of goals.
“I think Danny Ings is as good as it gets. At this time of the year, it’s not easy to pick up centre-forwards. We’re really pleased to have him. He’s already settled in quite well and we’re pleased to get him.
Speaking at Rush Green training ground, Moyes confirmed that Gianluca Scamacca is set for a short spell on the sidelines with a knee problem.
The Italian came off the bench at Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend but the manager suggested, with the 24-year-old unavailable in the short-term, Ings and Michail Antonio were both in contention to feature up front against the Toffees.
“Danny adds to what I needed here,” he continued. “Gianluca Scamacca has a bit of a knee injury which is going to keep him out for a short time so, at the moment, I’ve only got Micky and Danny who I can use as the out-and-out forwards. [Although] Jarrod Bowen can be used there as well.
“Hopefully he settles in well and we have competition. What you want is the players to want that competition, because that challenges them all to get better.”
Moyes also praised the attacking efforts of Saïd Benrahma this campaign. The Algerian has scored six goals in all competitions, including three in the Premier League, and added two assists.
And the Scot is hopeful the No22 will combine well with his new striker over the second half of the season.
He added: “I think Saïd has probably been the best of our attacking players at this moment in time. But, to be fair, we’ve not had many who have got great statistics. It’s obvious which area of the field we’ve been short at the moment, and it’s in the attacking areas.
“That’s why you’ve seen we’ve brought in Danny Ings and, if you look at his record at other Premier League clubs, he’s always been a solid player who has scored goals.”
