Russell Martin is a man who mixed opinions at Southampton, with a stubborn football philosophy that had its fair share of faults.
The former Saints boss, who guided the club to promotion from the Championship in 2023/2024 before a disastrous Premier League campaign that saw him sacked by Christmas, is now starting afresh at Leicester City.
The Foxes were relegated from the second tier under the guidance of three different managers last season, as various experiments didn’t go to plan.
Now under Martin, the club have signed a striker who netted 41 times in the Premier League for Southampton, in their search for immediate promotion back to the Championship.
Russell Martin signs former Saint
The two spent different times at Southampton than one another, but both new Leicester recruits experienced periods of highs at St Mary’s.
According to The Telegraph, Danny Ings will link up with Russell Martin to sign for League One side Leicester City on a one-year deal, as the Englishman departs Sheffield United.
Ings spent three years on the south coast between 2018 and 2021, scoring 46 times for Southampton in all competitions, including twice in the South Coast Derby at Fratton Park in a famous 4-0 victory over arch-rivals Portsmouth.
In the 2019/20 season, Southampton’s number nine scored 22 goals in the English top-flight, just missing out on the Premier League golden boot, as the Saints shone under Ralph Hassenhuttl.
After making the decision to leave Southampton for Aston Villa in a £25 million deal ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, the former Saint hasn’t continued at the level he left at.
A period of decline
Danny Ings scored just 15 times in 18 months at Villa Park before leaving for West Ham United in January 2023.
At the London Stadium, Ings’ form didn’t improve, as he scored just 5 times in 69 games.
It was time for another fresh start last summer for the former Liverpool and Southampton centre forward, but Danny Ings netted just twice in 23 second-tier matches for Sheffield United.
The 33-year-old has hardly flourished since making the move to leave St Mary’s in search of better things. Ings hasn’t played in English football’s third tier since 2011, but will return this summer, with fellow ex-Southampton man Russell Martin in charge of his destiny.
Add us as a preferred source on Google