Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in signing Aston Villa striker Danny Ings this month and the experienced forward could prove to be the next Glenn Murray at Selhurst Park.

According to The Sun earlier in January, Palace are set to rival Everton for the former England international, who has struggled for regular starts under new manager Unai Emery since football resumed after the World Cup break.

Villa paid Southampton £25m to sign the prolific forward in 2021 but he has struggled to replicate his form with the Saints at the Midlands club, contributing just 14 goals and eight assists in 52 appearances.

Despite making just eight starts in the top flight this season, with ten appearances from the bench, Ings has six goals to his name in the Premier League, which suggests that he could be a big help to Patrick Vieira amid the Eagles' current struggles in front of goal.

With Odsonne Edouard, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew boasting just five Premier League goals between them so far this campaign, it seems clear that Vieira lacks a goal "machine" - as dubbed by Jon Dunham - in the mould of Ings, who has made a career out of being in the right place at the right time.

That said, he might well be able to work alongside the likes of Edouard and Mateta, helping to forge a partnership capable of taking the Londoners up the table. Indeed, Noel Whelan was full of praise for the relationship Ings formed with Ollie Watkins during the early months of his Aston Villa career.

The pundit said: “He is a phenomenal finisher as well, and we’re really seeing that partnership work with Watkins. They’re building that telepathy, which is key to any good side.

“It’s what we’ve been asking for. They’ve had questions asked of them, criticism about the lack of goals – but they’ve shown exactly why Aston Villa paid the money to get them both in.

“They’re big players and they are goalscorers. It’s a partnership which is really flourishing now.”

A clinical finisher is something Palace have arguably lacked since the days of Glenn Murray with plenty since then failing to ever truly become a prolific asset at Selhurst Park.

The former Brighton forward was a menace for the Eagles, hitting 47 goals and registering 15 assists in 126 appearances for the club.

This included a remarkable haul of 30 goals in a record-breaking 2012/13 Championship campaign, which was only broken by Ivan Toney with Brentford in 2021.

Like Murray, Ings isn't blessed with significant pace, height or physical strength but he can be relied upon to put chances away on a regular basis, so it is easy to see why Vieira and Steve Parish might want to bring the Villa man to Selhurst Park this month.