Danny Ings on Liverpool: New signing Ings out to impress on tour in Australia

NEW signing Danny Ings is out to impress Liverpool fans and teammates on their upcoming tour of Australia and Asia.

HOW seriously are Liverpool FC players taking their tour of Australia?

Well, the club’s new signing Danny Ings came back early from holidays to train with the touring squad before it headed out this weekend.

Striker Ings, who joins Liverpool this season from relegated Burnley, was entitled to more time off after representing England Under 21s at the European Championships last month but went straight to the club’s Melwood training base to prepare for the tour, that also takes in Thailand and Malaysia.

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“I was given the option to have a little bit of extra time but I thought it was really important that I got in early, got to meet everyone, got all of the fitness stuff sorted, and get my head down and work hard from now,” he said.

“I don’t think I have ever been as excited in my career. It is definitely an opportunity to see what it is like to be at such a massive club and see the fanbase in different countries and to enjoy the moment.”

Danny Ings will be out to impress his new Liverpool teammates in Australia

Ings, who ended his four-year contract at Burnley with 11 goals for the season in a struggling team, is so highly regarded in the Premier League that Tottenham offered Burnley $25 million just to negotiate with them — the money to be paid if a deal was made.

He instead went to Liverpool for an undisclosed amount as one of a number of key signings for manager Brendan Rodgers after a season that failed to live up to expectation.

Rodgers will be looking to the tour to bring together the new players under the captaincy of Jordan Henderson who last week was officially announced as replacement for the departed Steve Gerrard.

But while the tour, which includes matches against the Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on July 17 and Adelaide United at Adelaide Oval three nights later, is being seen as vital to Liverpool’s chances of regaining respect at the top end of the ladder — and in turn Rodgers’ longevity at Anfield — it will also provide never-to-be forgotten memories.

Liverpool fans packed out the MCG two years ago.

“I’ve heard how extreme it can be out there,” Ings said. “Around your hotels, when you get off the planes and at the stadiums, how full they are, and the atmosphere.

“You only have to search on YouTube to see what it is like. To be a part of that will be massive for me and it’s definitely an experience I can’t wait for.

“The YouTube video that I watched was in Australia (at the Melbourne Cricket Ground two years ago). When they were singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, it just gives you goosebumps.

“To be a part of that is going to be massive for me. It is going to be huge for my development as a player to handle the fanbase around the world, to play in front of them and to perform at the top level.

“The fact that you’ve got thousands and thousands of fans watching you is what we thrive off as players. It’s why we do it.”

Originally published as Danny Ings on Liverpool: New signing Ings out to impress on tour in Australia