£20m down the drain: Liverpool disaster who cost £5m per goal rinsed the club dry – opinion
During the 2013/14 season, Liverpool had arguably the best chance of winning the league in nearly 25 years under Brendan Rodgers.
Everyone is aware of what transpired. Incidents such as the infamous Steven Gerrard slip, “Crystanbul,” lead to Manchester City’s second Premier League title.
However, it was evidently a step forward for the Reds at Anfield.
The following season was widely anticipated, but Rodgers’ business in the transfer window was abysmal. In the three windows following their glorification, the Reds went back to normal, failing to compete for any trophies.
In came the likes of Rickie Lambert, and Danny Ings who were not able to make an impression on Merseyside. Mario Balotelli and Nathaniel Clyne also struggled throughout their time at Anfield.
One of Rodgers’ worst moves was signing Ings. Especially considering how much the club spent on him over three seasons and his poor goal-scoring record.
How much did Liverpool pay for Danny Ings under Brendan Rodgers?
Before joining the Reds, Ings had made a name for himself at Burnley, where he had scored 43 goals in just over 100 appearances.
When he signed for free ahead of the 2015/16 season, it seemed like Liverpool had a bargain on their hands.
However, at the end of that season, Liverpool were required to pay a settlement fee of about £8 million. It did not appear to be money well spent based on the Englishman’s poor debut performance at the club.
Ings only scored three goals in nine games across all competitions, indicating that Jurgen Klopp didn’t see him as a key player for the first team.
The forward made only another 16 appearances for the Reds in the next two years scoring just once.
In the summer of 2018, he moved to Southampton for a fee of £20m. This move helped the club in recovering the cash they had sprinkled out on him in any case.
The Englishman was earning £77k per week at Liverpool, which equates to £12m over the course of his three full seasons. He was paid £8m for his service and scored just four goals. Therefore, the striker’s signing was viewed as a terrible waste of money.
