In their bid to replace Guido Carrillo with some fresh reinforcement, it’s being reported that Southampton are weighing up a bid for Danny Ings.
That’s according to the Sun at least, who have claimed that Mark Hughes is considering a move for the Englishman this summer.
Ings is valued at £20 million by his current side Liverpool, and whilst this is steep, Southampton supporters should note that the article states that the Saints are considering a bid of around half of that.
Southampton are definitely in need of a new striker, although with links to Andrea Petagna it seemed more like they were keen on a target man as opposed to another pacey, hard-working forward like Shane Long. However, if the Saints decide to move the Irishman on, a £10 million deal for Ings would be a suitable, albeit risky replacement.
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Of course, the elephant in the room is Ings’ injury record since moving to Merseyside – the forward has spent nearly 18 months on the sidelines since moving to the club in 2015, a worrying stat with the Saints already having Charlie Austin in their ranks.
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As a result, Ings has played just 14 times in the league for the Reds, scoring on three occasions.
However, at just 25, the forward’s best years are still ahead of him, and for £10-12 million it could be a sound investment, as Ings was prolific in his last two years with Burnley before moving north via the Bosman Ruling.
Furthermore he is actually a local lad, born in Winchester and from a family of Southampton fans, therefore it wouldn’t take much convincing on a personal level to get the 25-year-old to move to the south coast.
However the bottom line for many supporters would be the transfer fee – if the Saints do bid half of his valuation, Liverpool may play hardball with their forward and force the Saints to pay closer to that £20 million mark, something which would make the deal incredibly risky.
Any deal for Ings would also rely on what the Saints are doing with Long and other forwards like Sam Gallagher, as frankly they don’t need a striker like Ings unless Long is departing. Then again, this report is from the Sun, so it’s reliability is already questionable.