Danny Ings has been a revelation at Southampton since arriving from Liverpool.
After a string of injuries restricted him to just six Premier League starts in three years at Liverpool, Danny Ings would have been hoping that a summer move to Southampton kick-starts his career.
So far, it has had the desired effect. Ings has had a superb impact at his boyhood club, scoring three times in four starts, including a penalty in Monday’s 2-2 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The former Burnley striker will spend this season on loan at St Mary’s before making the move permanent next summer, and his eventual £20 million price-tag looks like it could be a bargain already.
That seems to be the opinion of Saints’ legend Matt Le Tissier anyway, who has tipped Ings for a bright future on the South Coast while comparing him to former England international Rickie Lambert.
“I think he’s been excellent, I really do,” Le Tissier told the Daily Echo. “He looks a level above what was at the club before in terms of sharpness and the way he sees the game. I think he could be (a cult hero)
“When I saw him play for Burnley a few years ago I actually compared him to Rickie.
“They are very different in terms of physical stature and Rickie was probably better in the air and at set pieces but they can see a pass and drop off people and play that role, like the Teddy Sheringham role, so there are some similarities.”
Lambert scored 117 goals in 235 games for Southampton between 2009 and 2014, helping to establish the club in the upper echelons of the Premier League.
Ings, then, has a long way to go to match his impact but he already looks like the natural goal poacher Southampton were badly missing last season.
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