There were some who thought Danny Ings should have left West Ham this summer.
The club spent more than £120million on new players and manager Julen Lopetegui had decided Ings was not part of his long-term plans.
There was interest from other sides, including his former club Southampton, but the 32-year-old striker was determined to stay and fight for his place.
And on Saturday, Ings’ 95th-minute goal salvaged a point against Fulham after a lacklustre performance from Lopetegui’s side.
Ings, who had been left out of the squad for the 3-1 defeat by Manchester City before the international break, would probably not have made the bench but for an injury to Niclas Fullkrug. Yet the forward showed why he can still be a valuable member of this team.
Danny Ings came off the bench to score a late equaliser against Fulham on Saturday
Asked how close he came to leaving West Ham, Ings said: ‘To be honest, not close at all. My main goal is to help West Ham and do the best I can here.
‘Moments like this mean the world. I’ve proved I can be effective in this league and I showed just that.’
Lopetegui described Ings as an example for his team-mates to follow and said the club still believed in him despite his lack of game time.
‘It’s great for any player to hear that from the manager,’ Ings said. ‘My fundamentals haven’t changed, I just want to do well for the team.
‘The Premier League is such a tough league and sometimes you have to take your medicine when you are not picked for the starting line-up.
Ings produced a good finish at the death to rescue a point for his side at Craven Cottage
‘All you can do is pick yourself up every day when you are not selected and hopefully things will change.
‘It is hard, for sure. But I have a lot of experience and have been in this situation many times before. When you come on and score, it makes all those sacrifices worthwhile.’