Danny Ings
According to Sky Sports, Southampton have started negotiations with star striker Danny Ings over a new long-term contract at St.Mary’s.
The 28-year-old has two years remaining on his existing deal but the Saints are prepared to secure his future with fresh terms following a season of resounding success for the Englishman.
Ings netted a staggering 25 goals across all competitions for Southampton last term as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side overcame a slow start to secure an impressive 11th-place finish in the Premier League.
Born in Winchester, Danny Ings started his youth career at Southampton but was released by the Saints as a schoolboy. He eventually rose through the youth ranks of Bournemouth and made his senior professional debut for the Cherries.
The 28-year-old shot to prominence with Burnley in the EFL Championship, winning the division’s Player of the Year award in 2013-14 and guiding the Clarets to promotion. Ings bagged 11 goals in his maiden season in the Premier League but wasn’t able to save his club from relegation.
The England international joined Liverpool in the summer of 2015 but his time at Anfield was blighted by several injuries. Ings scored just 4 times in 25 appearances for the Reds across all competitions over the course of three seasons before departing to join Southampton on loan in 2018.
Ings’ injury problems continued to haunt him during his first season at St.Mary’s but he still managed to muster a decent tally of 8 goals in 25 appearances, which prompted the Saints to sign him up on a permanent deal.
The 28-year-old plundered 25 goals in all competitions during the 2019-20 campaign, thus becoming only the third Southampton player after James Beattie and Matt Le Tissier to cross the 20-goal mark in the Premier League.
The striker’s 22-goal haul in the Premier League last term saw him finish just one goal behind Leicester City talisman Jamie Vardy in the Golden Boot race.
Danny Ings came to be known as one of the best young strikers in the Premier League following his 11-goal haul for relegated Burnley during the 2014-15 season. However, his stocks plummeted rapidly after he struggled to live up to the expectations over the course of his ill-fated stint at Liverpool.
After an injury-stricken debut campaign at Southampton, Ings’ career finally seems to have taken off, with the Englishman enjoying the most prolific season of his professional career in the top-flight last term.
In fact, Ings contributed to 43.14% of Southampton’s overall tally of 51 goals in the league last season, which clearly highlights his importance in Hasenhuttl’s side. The 28-year-old not only etched his name in the club’s history books with his audacious goal tally but also earned a recall to the England squad for the first time since making his debut way back in 2015.
To put things into perspective, it should be an absolute no-brainer for Southampton to tie Ings down to a new long-term deal. He is currently going through the best phase of his career and losing their star man would represent a massive blow for the Saints.
Southampton have largely focused on bringing in young and talented players in the transfer market following the appointment of Hasenhuttl. The likes of Che Adams, Moussa Djenepo, Kyle Walker-Peters and Mohammed Salisu have been roped in from various clubs to build a strong platform for the years to come.
With that in mind, it’s equally important for the Saints to keep hold of their best players in order to strike a perfect balance between youth and experience.
Danny Ings is certainly one of the club’s prized assets and retaining his services should be of paramount importance if Southampton are to travel further up the table in the coming seasons.
Having said that, a new deal for the 28-year-old would be a massive statement of intent from Hasenhuttl’s brigade.