Glen de la Cour has been speaking on the latest episode of the Total Saints podcast, where he offered his thoughts on the future of Southampton striker Danny Ings.
The former Burnley and Liverpool forward is fast approaching the final year of his current contract on the south coast, leading to speculation that he could leave in the summer.
Ings has bagged an impressive 42 goals in 92 appearances during his time at St. Mary’s, and the England international has been linked with a move to the liked of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City as a result.
At 28, Ings may be tempted to have one last crack at playing for a ‘big six’ side in the Premier League after his spell at Anfield was blighted by injuries, but De la Cour believes the £19.8m-rated striker will stay put.
He said: “I don’t think we’re going to need to sell him. It’s an interesting one, because as Steve [Grant] has quite often said whenever this question has come up in the past, who’s going to buy him?
“West Ham is the one I thought of as a possibility because they haven’t got a striker, but I suppose West Ham are an outside bet to qualify for the Champions League, but who knows.
“I mean, the fact that he’s had another kind of injury-plagued season is not going to go well for him with regards to attracting another club. If he’d have had another season like last year where he’d scored 25 goals and played 40 games, then it may have been a different story. So, I don’t think we’re desperate for the money.
“We paid £20m for him. If we sell him now, what fee are we going to get? With one year left on his contract, it’s going to be £20-25m tops, I’d have thought. Is it worth keeping him for another year and him going out of contract?
“I have a feeling that he’ll be waiting until the transfer window, waiting to see if there’s any interest, and I don’t think there probably will be that much, and he’ll end up signing a new deal with us.”
TIF Thoughts on Ings…
Ings has proven himself to be one of the best strikers in the Premier League over the last 18 months or so after rediscovering his best form under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
However, he now has a big decision to make in regard to his career. With the likes of Harry Kane and Gabriel Jesus perhaps likely to be ahead of him in the pecking order at Spurs and City respectively, the Englishman could find his game time severely restricted if he did depart the Saints for a so-called bigger side this summer.
The lure of Champions League football and potential trophies may be too much for Ings to turn down, so it could be argued it is fanciful to suggest he will stay put at St. Mary’s, but we’re sure all Southampton fans will be urging their key man to stay put and become a club legend over the next few years.