Some Southampton fans have slammed pundit Darren Bent’s comments about Tottenham potentially signing their striker Danny Ings as back-up to Harry Kane in January.
Bent was recently talking to TalkSPORT (via DailyEcho) and he commented on Ings and his suitability to Jose Mourinho’s Spurs. He said that with Kane out injured, Ings can do a very good job till the England captain returns to action.
The former Spurs striker hailed it as the ‘perfect’ signing and feels that it is a ‘no-brainer’ for Spurs to pursue Ings.
Southampton fans: Can Ings replace Kane?
He's not going anywhere
Get good money off him
But some Southampton fans have expressed their anger at Bent’s comments and feel that Ings to Tottenham will not happen.
Just a completely idiotic string of sentences from Darren.
— Garrett Mundy (@GarrettIvo) January 7, 2020
Darren Bent and Tottenham can bugger off.
— (Solent) Steve (@dingodrum) January 7, 2020
Jog on… pic.twitter.com/AXDcH1ruqR
— Stuart Chaplin (@StuiC) January 7, 2020
Pigs might fly if that happens. The time has come for us to keep our in form players, not cash in on them. Danny is a Southampton ( well, Netley ) man and, like good footballers, he’s come home to stay. Come on you Reds!
— Geoffrey Macey (@GSidMac1) January 7, 2020
REALLY!!!!! This is nearly as funny as the report last month that Everton should sign him.
— Simon Jordan (@spj1960) January 7, 2020
Hometown boy, happy at saints & if he left it would be 4 a big team
— sirfrost76 (@sirfrost761) January 7, 2020
Kane suffered a hamstring injury during Spurs’ recent 1-0 defeat to Southampton themselves. He is expected to be out for a good amount of time, with Mourinho having confirmed that the injury is a serious one.
As for Ings, he was on the scoresheet for the Saints in the win over Spurs. His first-half goal had lifted Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men up to 12th in the Premier League table and they are now unbeaten in as many as five games in the division.
So far this season, Ings has played 23 games in all competitions for the Saints. He has found the back of the net 15 times, with 13 of those goals coming in the Premier League. He also scored twice in the club’s League Cup campaign.
This season’s numbers have been an improvement from last season. Ings played 25 games in all competitions last season, scoring eight goals and racking up three assists on the way for them.
What do we think?
Southampton know Ings’ value more than anyone else. The club has scored 25 goals in the Premier League and Ings has contributed to more than 50% of those. His performance will be valuable for the club, as the season wears on. Without his goals, they could well be in the bottom three. They can’t afford to lose him.