(Danny Ings has really had a tough time in Merseyside and both Liverpool and the player want a move elsewhere)

Poor Danny Ings, flashback to the 2014-15 season and the English forward was hot property after netting 11 goals and 5 assists in a Burnley side that is a far cry from the dizzying heights Sean Dyche has propelled the club to this season, Burnley finished 19th that season and Dyche’s men dropped to the Championship. Ings had a number of teams chasing him including Tottenham Hotspur but chose to join Brendan Rodger’s Liverpool for a total of £8million.

But following his big move he suffered two serious injuries putting him out of action for a considerable length of time, he missed most of the 2015-16 season, the entirety of the 2016-17 season, and has only just returned to action following two serious injuries on the 11th of September.

Ings really is a fantastic player though, and on his prime has electric pace and considerable strength despite only being 5ft 10, and he has all the trickery and link-up play to really thrive in the Liverpool attack. But first he has to prove himself elsewhere and then return to Liverpool, or needs to cement himself elsewhere and show potential suitors of his talent.

And make no mistake the Under-21 England star and current one England cap holder has suitors across the Premier League with Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham, Newcastle all very keen on the former Burnley star. It is without doubt his stock has undoubtedly decreased from his time out in the cold but yet Liverpool still see Ings as part of their plans and will only allow him to leave on a loan deal until the end of the season, and he could see his stock rise away from Merseyside as Joe Allen has moved on a permanent basis to Stoke City.

(Ings had the world at his feet following a fantastic goal tally while at Burnley)

The real question is where will Ings decide to go, with so much interest from a number of clubs and a number of different managers with different playing styles Ings has a tough choice ahead. He could go with the counter-attacking styles of Alan Pardew and West Brom, add to the attacking talents at Mark Hughes’s Stoke City linking up with Shaqiri and Choupo-Moting, the sheer pace and desire of West Ham and David Moyes or the brilliant passing and directness of Newcastle.

With a number of clubs chasing him Ings needs to ask himself a vital question. Do I want to be on that plane to Russia? Of course, every Englishman wants to represent their country and go to the World Cup but Ings who out been out for so long must decide, maybe he won’t think about it and rather go in with the mentality if it happens it happens.

Because with a number of English strikers wanting to join the likes of Harry Kane and Rashford as a member of the attacking threat including Charlie Austin, Jamie Vardy, Wayne Rooney, Jermaine Defoe, Tammy Abraham and Daniel Sturridge all under Gareth Southgate’s radar with Sturridge also attracting interest from a number of Premier league Clubs Ings faces stiff competition.

By Lewis Holman

Everton are in a spot of bother this campaign, after selling Romelu Lukaku for a initial £75 million pounds with £15 million in add-on’s coming in the coming seasons Everton had cash to burn. And they did just that with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri granting Koeman a £150 million war chest in order for the former dutch international now turned manager to compete in Europe following their Europa League qualification.

In the transfer market the Toffees completed savvy business they seemed to spend wisely completing dual deals for English prospects Jordan Pickford (from Sunderland) and Michael Keane (Burnley) on 2 £30 million deals. Not to mention enlisting young Spanish Attacker Sandro Ramirez for £5.2 million pipping Atletico Madrid to the signature, all this without mentioning the return of youth academy product Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) on a free transfer, Davy Klaasan (Ajax) for £23.6 million and the Icelandic midfielder Glyfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) for £45 million.

(Everton have spent big this summer with £150 million worth of investment)

But despite these signings Everton have been lacklustre this season and despite a £150 million investment Everton currently sit in the relegation places in 18th and the widely praised Koeman from last season was axed, currently former Everton player and Under-23’s manager David Unsworth is at the helm of the Liverpool based club.

But while many pundits and fans alike want him to stay despite losses against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Leicester City in the League with Phil Neville among others backing the former centre-back, but Arsenal Legend Ian Wright is not so convinced.

“If Everton hand him the reins now ahead of time, it could turn out to be the worst move either of them could make. Romanticism is all fine and good but it doesn’t win you points and matches. The Premier League is not like that. If you’re not up to it, if you’re not ready, it chews you up and spits you out, and for Everton it is all about survival.

SAUDI ARABIA

Group B represents a good opportunity for those nations that have not had great success in the tournament before. Only Saudi Arabia has been triumphant in the continental showpiece, winning three times, the last of which was in 1996 during the country’s ‘golden age’. Unfortunately those days seem quite distant to the Saudi’s having failed to qualify for the last two World Cups after qualifying for the preceding four. Their first World Cup appearance was their legendary and last 16 performance at USA ’94.

Nowadays the Saudi football team seem further from emulating that ‘golden age’ than Saaed Al-Owairan was to the goal when he started that famous mazy run against Belgium in ’94. We also continue to miss the exploits of Asian Goalkeeper of the century Mohamed Al-Deayea.

Recent tournament despair as the host nation in the Gulf Cup of Nations to World Cup 2022 host Qatar, as well as the latest pre-Asian Cup friendly defeats to the Bahrain and the heavily fancied to do well South Koreans, leaves Saudi Arabia with little momentum heading into the Asian Cup.

But there is hope as their top domestic club side Al Hilal reached the final of the Asian Champions League only to narrowly lose out to Western Sydney Wanderers. Al Hilal’s team includes 2014 Asian Footballer of the Year and Saudi star striker Nasser Al-Shamrani, his performances for Al Hilal particularly in the Asian Champions League and recent goals in the Gulf Cup helped his side and nation reach the final in both.

However, Al-Shamrani position in the frontline may well be considered a volatile one. Especially given his recent exploits that involved pushing a fan in the aforementioned defeat to Bahrain alongside that of what cumulated to a eight-game ban for a combination of spitting and headbutting (A horribly destructive combo) whilst playing against Australian opponents the Wanderers. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia will be relying on him to provide them with the goals to make it into the latter stages of the tournament for the first time since 2007 when they were defeated finalists, losing out to first-time champs Iraq.

CHINA

China, coached by former Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin, have been called a sleeping giant in the football world and improving performances see them carry an eight-game unbeaten run into the tournament. Perrin has installed a tough, difficult-to-beat attitude about the national team whose squad is entirely comprised of domestic players.

As the Chinese Super League continues to build on its 10-year success, so does the league’s most successful team, Guangzhou Evergrande, who recently replaced Marcelo Lippi with his own World Cup winning captain Paolo Cannovaro. Lippi’s tenure at Evergrande undoubtedly improved the club’s Chinese contingent and the Asian Cup squad boasts seven players from the club, including the only player over-30, captain Zheng Zhi. China will be relying on his experience and that of their French coach to bring the nation through a group that is very winnable for the country of a population of 1.3 billion.

NORTH KOREA

The group will see China take on secluded neighbours and tournament dark horses North Korea. The nation is nicknamed the Chollima, which is the thousand-mile winged horse and indicates the strength and speed of the North Koreans running and stamina on the field. The Chollima also display the usual collective grit and steel associated with countries that fall under communist dictatorships.

They’re a team whose striker Jong Ill-Gwan is one of the continents rising stars; the 2010 young Asian Player of the Year 22-year-old has been linked with moves to Europe with a particular strong rumour of a move to Newcastle in 2012, but nothing as of yet has materialized. His goals were key in the recent Asian Games U-23 team that reached the final, which he was suspended for, only to be defeated by rivals and hosts South Korea.

North Korea as a country represents an ‘us versus the rest of the world’ mentality and this carries through to their tactics on the pitch. A direct fast-paced dogged counter attacking side is a match for any opponent in Group B and the Asian Cup in general.

UZBEKISTAN

The final outfit in Group B is the industrious Uzbekistan. Edged out of automatic qualification for the 2014 World Cup by one point by South Korea, which had followed a table-topping AFC Round 3 qualification finishing above Japan and eliminating North Korea. The White Wolves have been steadily improving since their independent formation in 1992. Testament to this is their fourth place finish at the last Asian Cup, narrowly losing out 3-2 to South Korea once again.

The Uzbek defence can call upon experienced and wily left-back Vitaliy Denisov of Lokomotiv Moscow that gives them a strong base and one that is difficult to break down. Further up the field midfielder and captain Server Djeparov provides the creatively for the team that sometimes lacks a punch up front. If they can get the goals they will qualify from the group.

PREDICTION:

Group B is the toughest group to call; with no clear favourite and some defensively minded teams the group winners and runners-up will come down to a couple of one nil wins. I think the doggedness of North Korea will see them through as group winner and Uzbekistan to follow them, just bettering the results of China to qualify on goal-difference.