Southampton forward Danny Ings has snubbed the club's offer of a new contract in the hope of sealing a move to a top club this summer.
Ings bagged 12 goals for Ralph Hasenhuttl's side last season but was powerless to prevent them from finishing 15th in the Premier League table. He is yet to finish in the top half of the table since joining the club in 2019.
Now 28 years old, Ings has entered the final year of his contract at St Mary's. According to The Athletic, there had been optimism that the striker would extend his stay at the club, but he has turned down their offer of a new four-year deal.
Ings is not believed to be disappointed by the offer of the proposed wages, but instead believes signing a new deal may end his chances of testing himself at a top side.
The likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham have all tracked Ings over the past 12 months, and although it's not clear whether any would be interested in pursuing the striker right now, Ings is keen to link up with a side capable of making more noise at the top end of the table and is prepared to take a risk.
Southampton must now decide what to do about Ings. He is able to walk away for nothing in 2022 and will see his value drop with each passing week as he approaches the end of his contract.
Their chances of recovering the £20m they paid to sign him from Liverpool in 2019 are slim-to-none and selling him this summer is likely to be Southampton's only hope of getting anywhere close to that figure.
Southampton are already looking at potential alternatives, with Blackburn's Adam Armstrong one of the names under consideration.
Signing Ings on a cut-price deal might be a desirable move for a number of top sides, although it's very hard to see the Englishman becoming a regular starter at any of them.
City and United are both pursuing Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, but if one of them is successful in signing the latter, a door could be opened for Ings at Tottenham.
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Source : 90min