Southampton are looking to bolster their squad ahead of a Premier League return and are now ‘willing’ to pay up to £6 million to bring a player Ralph Hasenhuttl rates highly to the club.
Russell Martin is the man in charge now, and is preparing for what will be his ever season as a Premier League manager.
Some sales will be necessary, with a number of senior players who spent last season on loan needing to be sold and some players from last season not likely to be deemed capable of making the step up.
The squad building is already underway despite the transfer window opening just days ago, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Adam Lallana confirmed as Southampton players next season.
Now, it appears the club could move for another former player, with Southampton willing to go as high as £6 million to secure a move for a player who lit up St Mary’s at times under Hasenhuttl.
Southampton could re-sign Danny Ings this summer
With Lallana returning to the club after a decade away, Southampton are now interested in exploring a potential move for Danny Ings.
Ings left the Saints in summer 2021, sealing a £25 million move to then mid-table Aston Villa when it was widely assumed he would only leave for one of the Premier League clubs in Europe.
A local lad, the departure left a sour taste in many fans’ mouths. However, the club are now being linked with a move for the 31-year-old who has been at West Ham United since January 2023.
That is according to the Daily Mail, who report that Southampton are ‘willing to offer up to £6 million’ to sign Ings this summer with Martin viewing him as a ‘proven top flight goalscorer who can help guide what will be a relatively young dressing room.’
Ings will be allowed to leave West Ham this summer but the striker is keen to assess all his options prior to making a decision.
Should Southampton welcome Ings back this summer?
Ings initially joined Southampton on loan from Liverpool in the summer of 2018 before signing permanently a year later.
In his three seasons at the club, the striker managed an impressive 49 goals and ten assists in 100 games in all competitions and scored 22 goals in the league in the 2019/20 season.
Ings lost out by one goal to Jamie Vardy in the Premier League Golden Boot race that campaign, but has struggled to recreate the form that saw Villa pay £25 million to sign him a year after.
Hasenhuttl was a big fan of Ings and said in October 2019: “I spoke with Jurgen about him and he said he has a smell for the situation where he knows he can earn something. This is very special for me.
“When he has the ball, he has the quality to score. He gets a lot of chances and finally is able to score.
“Danny is always positive, always open-minded and a very positive character for this team. I hope he can continue this run.
The problem is Ings has scored just three league goals in his 18 months at West Ham and has managed a measly total of 16 strikes since leaving Southampton.
At 31 and being a player who has had his fair share of injury woes, Southampton might be wise to give this transfer a miss and instead pursue other targets.
Ings could perhaps be a decent option off the bench, but he should not be the player Southampton trust to lead the line and his return may not go down too well amongst a fanbase he alienated by leaving for Villa just three years ago.