Danny Ings

Daniel "Danny" William John Ings (born 23 July 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Burnley in the Premier League. Ings has played internationally for England under-21.

Ings started his career in the youth team of Southampton but was released as a schoolboy. He subsequently joined the Centre of Excellence at Bournemouth, progressing through the system to sign a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2008. He made his first professional appearance in October 2009. He signed his first professional contract in May 2010 and extended it in September of the same year, the same month in which he joined Conference South side Dorchester Town on loan for two months. He scored his first professional goal for Bournemouth in February 2011. In August 2011, he joined Football League Championship side Burnley, on a four-year contract.

Off the field, Ings has gained a reputation for charitable acts. In November 2014, he launched and funded the Danny Ings Disability Sport Project to provide football coaching to children with disabilities and learning difficulties after being inspired to do so by a young disabled Burnley fan.

Bournemouth
Ings was born in Hythe, Hampshire, near Southampton. He started his career with Southampton, before being released as a school boy. He subsequently signed a two-year apprentice contract with Bournemouth in May 2008, having progressed through the club's Centre of Excellence. He had also previously had experience playing for the reserve side. He made his professional debut for Bournemouth on 6 October 2009, in a 2–1 away defeat to Northampton Town in the Football League Trophy, replacing Jason Tindall in the second half as a substitute. His second season in the youth team was blighted by a long-term abdominal injury, which restricted his playing time. He remained with the youth team until the summer of 2010, when he signed a short-term three-month contract. He extended his contract in September 2010, until the end of the 2010–11 campaign.

In September 2010, he was sent on an initial one month loan to Conference South side Dorchester Town on loan. His debut for the Magpies came on 11 September 2010, scoring the equaliser in a 2–1 home defeat to Ebbsfleet United. His second goal for Dorchester came on 24 September, scoring a penalty in a 4–1 win over Mangotsfield United in the FA Cup. On 6 October, his loan was extended for a further month. His next goal came in a 4–1 defeat to Havant & Waterlooville as the Magpies were knocked out of the FA Cup. On 16 October, he scored the second in a 2–0 league win over Lewes, after coming on as a late substitute for Giuseppe Sole. He got his fifth goal in a 2–1 away win over Staines Town, scoring the opener. His first goal in November came in a 2–1 home defeat to Maidenhead United, which ended an unbeaten run of six games. On 12 November 2010, his loan was extended for a third time for an additional month. He scored the second in a 3–1 win over Weston-super-Mare in the FA Trophy to help them progress to the next round. On 23 November, his spell at Dorchester was cut short as he was recalled from his loan by Bournemouth due to an injury crisis at the club.

On 30 November, he signed a new contract extension which lasted until 2012. He made his league debut and first start for Bournemouth on 28 December 2010, in a 2–0 away defeat to Milton Keynes Dons in League One, where he was substituted off in the first half for Steve Fletcher. He started to become a first team regular and scored his first professional goal against Swindon Town on 1 February 2011, in a 3–2 win at Dean Court. His form saw him rewarded with a new contract extension, lasting until 2013. On 26 February 2011, he scored a header to equalise in 2–1 win away at Dagenham & Redbridge in the league. On 1 April he added to his tally with a goal against Peterborough United in a 3–3 draw. He went through a rich vein of goalscoring from in April, scoring four goals in three games. He scored an overhead kick to equalise in the last minute against Tranmere Rovers, however, the Cherries went on to lose the game 2–1. He also scored in a 2–0 away victory over Notts County. He scored his first brace in a 2–2 draw with Yeovil Town, including one penalty. His final goal for Bournemouth came in the last game of the season, in the play-off semi-final defeat to Huddersfield Town, as Bournemouth were knocked out on penalties.

In the summer of 2011, he was linked with reported moves away from Bournemouth with Celtic, Liverpool and Newcastle United. Premier League side Fulham also had a £400,000 bid rejected by the club. In July 2011, he was rewarded with his fifth contract in twelve months, improving his deal to be one of the top earners at the club. He remained at the club through pre-season and started in the first game of the season in a 3–0 away defeat to Charlton Athletic. It proved to be his final appearance for the club.

Burnley
On 15 August 2011, Ings signed for Championship side Burnley for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £1 million, on a four-year contract. He rejoined former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe who had made the same move eight months earlier. He made his debut on 14 February 2012, in a 2–0 win over Barnsley at Turf Moor, where he came on as a late substitute for Charlie Austin. His first start came a month later on 10 March 2012, in a 1–1 home draw with Crystal Palace in the league. His first goal for Burnley came on 31 March, in a 5–1 win against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. His second goal came in the following game, where he scored the equaliser in a 3–1 defeat to Birmingham City. He scored his third goal of the season in the final game of the season, a 30-yard strike in a 1–1 home draw with Bristol City.

He started the 2012–13 season as a first choice regular in pre-season following the sale of striker Jay Rodriguez to Southampton. He scored in friendly wins over Altrincham and Bury. He suffered another serious knee injury in the final pre-season game, a 3–1 defeat to Rochdale. He tore the knee cartilage in the opposite knee to the previous season which resulted in surgery, keeping him out of action for up to six months.

Ings put together a string of impressive performances in the Clarets' pre-season campaign and scored two goals in the opening three league matches as well as a goal in the League Cup against York City.

In March 2014, Danny Ings won Championship Player of the Year at Football League Awards, ahead of the two other nominees Leeds forward Ross McCormack and Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater.

On 22 November 2014, Ings scored both of Burnley's goals in a 2–1 win at Stoke City for their first away win of the Premier League season, his two goals coming in the space of two minutes. He made his 100th league appearance for Burnley in a 1–0 win against Southampton on 13 December. Ings scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win against Queens Park Rangers on 10 January 2015, a result which moved Burnley out of the relegation zone. On 12th February Danny Ings scored a 12th minute equaliser against Manchester United but went on to lose 3-1 as Chris Smalling and Robin Van Persie(pen) secured the win for United

International career
On 3 October 2013, Ings received his first international call-up to the England under-21 squad by manager Gareth Southgate. He made his debut a week later as a substitute in a 4–0 win away to San Marino. He won his second cap in the reverse fixture on 19 November, and scored twice as England won 9–0 against San Marino at the New Meadow.

Honours
Individual
 * Championship Player of the Month: October 2013
 * Championship Player of the Year: 2013–14
 * North West Football Awards: 2014 Championship Player of the Year