Danny Ings is now a player to fear

When Danny Ings was sold by AFCB to Burnley for around £1m it was hailed as a good deal and the first million pound player that the club had developed. Now it looks like Burnley were the recipients of a talented player worth well in excess of that total and a striker to fear for all the Championship clubs.

Danny Ings in his AFC Bournemouth days.

I remember watching Danny Ings against Huddersfield in the 2010-11 League One play-off second leg which we eventually lost on penalties after a 3:3 draw in extra time. Danny scored the goal that I thought was going to take the Cherries to Old Trafford and the first division play off final when he rose Dolphin like and headed us into a 2:3 lead. I was on mt knees screaming wildly in my local pub, watching the game on TV, when all around were surprised to see so much passion in a supporter that didn't follow Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool. But they were even more amazed to see the quality of the football being played and to watch a player that was new to them - Danny Ings!

Even at that time Danny had not played very many games for Bournemouth and he was learning his trade with Michael Symes being the main striker and Danny coming into the team after Josh McQuiod had been sold to Millwall. Danny had a work rate though and pace or should I say menace about him that made him stand out as something a bit special. He was perhaps not the finished article in terms of making the best use of his energy and putting his chances away, but you could see he was going to be a handful once he had a couple of seasons under his belt. 

The fruits of all that training at AFCB though were to see him join Eddie Howe at Burnley and while he has endured long term injuries in the past two seasons he has recovered and is now setting the Championship alight while getting his first England U21 call up. I can see him making the senior England team as well if he continues to improve at such a rate.

The problem is that the Cherries have to try and keep him at bay for 90 minutes on Saturday. He is like a live wire with finishing skill now added to his overall game and he is enjoying his football. Getting one over his former manager and club would also prove that he has made the grade so Danny will be well revved up for this game.

I suspect that Burnley's defenders don't enjoy trying to keep him quiet during training either. Having such a player to try and stop every week though has probably made them even better. With Danny and Sam Vokes also in good form, the former Cherries are a duo that many top championship clubs would love to have on their books. That AFCB did not put in a bid big enough to bring back Danny Ings last summer to the south coast could come back to haunt them, but in a way Bournemouth are already the winners in being able to produce players like Danny and Sam. I only wonder how often does such talent come along and can our coaching staff deliver another such player in the next few years?

Cherry Chimes also spoke yesterday to Jamie Smith of the No Nay Never blog about Burnley's season so far and the return visit of Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall to Turf Moor on Saturday. If you have not read it yet, it can be found on Rival Lines.