Aston Villa's signing of Danny Ings in 2021 has so far proved to be a big mistake by sporting director Johan Lange, with the former Liverpool and Southampton man failing to justify his fee.

The former England international joined Villa from Southampton in a deal worth £25m last summer, despite him being in the final year of his contract at St Mary's, and he has also struggled with injuries throughout his career, which suggests that Villa may have slightly overpaid in order to sign him.

Since then, he has gone on to make 37 appearances for the Villans, in which he has contributed just nine goals, a disappointing return for a proven Premier League striker.

Last season saw Ings score just seven goals in the top flight, having hit 34 in his last two seasons with Southampton, so it was no surprise to see him labelled "wasteful" after a poor performance against Crystal Palace.

This means that Villa have, thus far, paid £2.8m per goal for Ings, and at 30-years-old, Lange may well be regretting the investment, as his numbers are unlikely to improve as he gets older, while he is contracted at Villa until 2024.

Ings has a strong record in the top flight, with 63 Premier League goals to his name, but the reality is that he was brought in as a guaranteed source of goals in Steven Gerrard's side and he has so far failed to produce them consistently.

This season has seen Ings manage just one goal in his five Premier League appearances, averaging a disappointing 6.38 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which ranks him as the 12th-best player in Gerrard's squad for this campaign.

While Ings might be a good mentor for Villa's younger strikers such as Ollie Watkins and Cameron Archer, he may well find himself replaced by the latter if his poor form continues this season, as Gerrard needs a more reliable source of goals if his side are to improve upon their disappointing start to the new campaign.

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Considering Ings is reportedly on £120k-per-week, he has been a big investment by Lange and all things considered, it has not paid off at all.