London move on cards as Ings’ childhood club deny interest

Southampton have distanced themselves from reports claiming they are ready to spend £20million to sign Danny Ings from Liverpool.

It was claimed over the weekend that Saints boss Mark Hughes had made a firm move to take Winchester-born Ings back home to Hampshire – with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp expected to reluctantly accept the money.

However, the Southampton Daily Echo claims the reports are wide of the mark and the player is of ‘no interest’ to Hughes and his staff at this stage of the transfer window.

Instead, they believe Ings will more likely move to Crystal Palace, for whom manager Roy Hodgson is also a known admirer.

Ings, 25, has seen his three years at Anfield completely ruined by a variety of injuries, with the striker making just 25 appearances since arriving at the end of his Burnley contract in 2015.

The striker picked up a serious knee injury on the day Klopp took charge at Anfield in October 2015 and it’s been a similar hard-luck story every since.

Nonetheless, Klopp still rates the striker highly and last season saw Ings make a Reds-high 14 appearances.

But with injuries largely to blame, Ings has struggled to establish himself as little more than a squad man and the Reds look likely to accept the £20m offer and allow the 25-year-old the chance to rebuild his career elsewhere.

 

However, but for a late change of heart, that seems unlikely to happen at St Mary’s and with the club he supported as a boy.

Hughes has already overseen a £51m spree, with Stuart Armstrong, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Angus Gunn and Jannik Vestergaard all arriving this summer.

 

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