When the reports first emerged linking Spurs with a move for Danny Ings, it was tempting to view the Southampton striker through the prism of life without Harry Kane.
But even if Kane does stay at his boyhood club for another year – something that feels increasingly likely with Manchesters United and City focusing their attention on Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho instead – it’s high time Tottenham Hotspur found a prolific number nine capable of easing the burden on their talismanic number ten.
Vincent Janssen was a disaster, Fernando Llorente a disappointment, while the odd goal against Marine and Ludogorets wasn’t enough to earn Carlos Vinicius an extended stay in the Premier League.
Could Danny Ings swap Southampton for Spurs?
Ings, then, would fill a void that has been empty for many a year (talkSPORT).
The Athletic reports Southampton’s number nine has turned down a contract that would have made him the best-paid player in the club’s history.
And Ings’ desire to play at a higher level, at the age of 28, is unlikely to go unnoticed at Tottenham, regardless of whether Kane stays or goes.
Then again, whether Ings would see the current Spurs side as a genuine step up from Southampton – we would assume he dreams of the Champions League, not the Conference League – is anyone’s guess.
Southampton paid £20 million to sign Ings in summer 2019 but, with just one year left on his current deal, the Saints may be forced to accept a reduced fee for a man whose departure would rob Ralph Hasenhuttl of his most naturally gifted player up top.
Here’s what some Tottenham fans on Twitter thought about the Ings links:
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