Southampton: Rodgers tips Saints man for deserved England call-up

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has tipped Southampton striker Danny Ings for a call-up to the England squad.

Rodgers had Ings in his squad when in charge at Liverpool and will have seen the qualities that the 27-year-old has up close.

Now at Southampton, Ings has hit arguably the best form of his career this season with 16 goals in all competitions – including the match-winner against Rodgers’ Leicester side on Saturday.

Speaking to the media after seeing his side lose 2-1 to Saints (via skysports.com), Rodgers said:

"“When he was at his best in and around Liverpool he was certainly a player for that there. I would definitely say he would be in consideration for that (an England call-up). Danny has always been an outstanding player. He has an eye for goal, wants to run in behind. His goal was (typical) Danny Ings, really. Off the shoulder, in behind and he finishes it really well. He just needs to keep the consistency and availability and he’ll show he’s one of the best strikers about.”"

Ings does have one England cap to his name after coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 European Qualifier win over Lithuania back in 2015.

Back then he was at Liverpool having switched Burnley’s Turf Moor for Anfield the previous summer, with Roy Hodgson the England boss to hand him his first taste of senior international action.

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Interestingly though, he does have a potentially strong link with the current Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate.

Southgate gave Ings his debut for the England Under-21s and this perhaps hints at an understanding between the two of them.

Ings may have slipped down the pecking order after bad injury problems at Liverpool hampered his progress, but he will surely be back on the radar now that he is firing once more.

Harry Kane’s recent injury has also opened a debate about who would be the strikers that Gareth Southgate would call on.

Tammy Abraham, Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy have all had superb campaigns, but it looks as though Vardy won’t be coming out of retirement despite bagging Premier League goals to date this season.

For that reason, Ings has to be in with a very good shout to be at least the fourth-choice forward overall and the third-choice when one of the others is unavailable for selection.

A healthy level of options for England selection has made it harder for Saints players to get a call-up, but hopefully that will prove different for the next round of international fixtures in March when England host Italy and Denmark in the lead up to Euro 2020.