West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui spoke to the press yesterday ahead of our upcoming festive fixtures.
Danny Ings was one of the subject matters, and you will not believe what Julen Lopetegui said about the West Ham striker.
Lopetegui is a man very much under pressure right now, although it has been claimed that the board are still willing to give him a chance to prove himself.
The Spaniard faces a couple of big games ahead, and Ings is someone who will be hoping to get some substantial minutes.
He has looked well off the pace so far this season though, whenever he has played.
Manager Julen Lopetegui shows emotion during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion at the London Stadium in...
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The 32-year-old is just not at the required level to play Premier League football anymore in my opinion.
And with that in mind, Lopetegui’s latest statement on him was very strange in the extreme.
Julen Lopetegui makes jaw-dropping Dany Ings statement
The Spaniard has been speaking to the media ahead of our crunch clash with Southampton on Thursday.
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The game against the Saints will be a vitally important one for the Hammers.
A win will be an absolute must, if we are to make a push for the European spots.
Ahead of the game though, the Hammers boss made some truly bizarre comments about Danny Ings.
Lopetegui mentioned the 32-year-old when discussing his striking options on Monday, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
Danny Ings of West Ham United reacts after missing a chance during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Arsenal FC at London Sta...
Photo by Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
“I think we lost a very important player for us for a lot of time, who is Michail Antonio, and it’s true we didn’t have Füllkrug in his best way, and Danny Ings is doing well, so we can use Jarrod Bowen too, so we have different options [up front],” he observed.
That just makes no sense to me – Ings is far from doing well, even the striker would admit that himself.
Lopetegui has already offered insincere praise for Ings earlier this season – remember the Spaniard desperately tried to flog him in the summer!
If Lopetegui really rated Ings, why has he given him just 159 Premier League minutes since he scored our vital equaliser away at Fulham in September?
Something’s not adding up is it.
Either Julen Lopetegui’s praise of Danny Ings is insincere or the West Ham head coach is completely clueless.
To be honest, I think it might actually be a bit of both!
Let’s see if Ings gets any substantial minutes against his former club Southampton on Boxing Day. That will be the acid test of whether Lopetegui actually rates him or not.
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