Unfortunately I agree with this, especially with his injury record factored in too. Levy will definitely lowball us with a multipack of quavers and Dele Alli first though.
So we have to get behind City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and United to pick up the champions league spots. If they get them I can't see any of them going in for him oh plus us making a push for it!
I also think the club would be content to cash in on Ings and promote Adams to first choice striker. Maybe pair him with someone new and rough around the edges coming in.
Especially if they're going to be playing European football, there would be plenty of game time for both. While I certainly hope that Ings stays, I'm curious whether people would take Iheanacho in part exchange. He hasn't kicked on, but he has also had the misfortune of playing behind elite-level players his whole career, and in his (generally limited) minutes in the PL/Europe he's actually a fairly prolific contributor to goals: he scores or assists a goal every 118 minutes, which is very, very good.
Surely a £50m release clause satisfy all parties. Losing him for anything less would be a joke. Maybe not even worth it. Might as well have his 15-20 goals for another season than £20m.
A team that can't afford to hike the wages of key players by a couple mil per year is a team that can't afford to replace them if they walk for free, either.
Some players can’t simply be replaced. Ings is one of those. Doesn’t matter how much we get for him, who are we going to replace him with? Kane? Aguero? Salah? Not happening.
That's fair, so long as we're fully prepared in 18 months to have no Ings and no one else to partner Adams. I don't mean "only a lesser PL-quality player to replace him": I mean we're skint and probably going to have to sell players in the near future in order to reduce our losses. We've taken out a loan that involves us paying more than £7m a year just in interest. As wonderful as it would be to take a noble stand to maximize our next year and a half, we're in a pretty precarious position here.
We were after Kane before he made the first team I believe. Regardless of the Ings deal, we need to be scouting fringe players hard in my opinion. Delap from city and such like.
If our financial position is that precarious, then we’re not going to reinvest the £30 odd million we might get for Danny Ings on a replacement anyway. No idea how you price up the potential cash value of his goals over a season, but you’d probably have to find a way of quantifying that before deciding if it makes financial sense to sell him this summer or let him go for free next. But in footballing terms it’s an absolute no brainier. It’ll be a long time before we find another Danny Ings, let’s keep hold of this one for as long as we can.
More information from The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/2331934/202...contract-stalemate?source=user-shared-article Southampton striker Danny Ings is yet to sign a new contract. The striker’s future at St Mary’s has been placed under the microscope over the last 24 hours after Ralph Hasenhuttl was asked about it ahead of his side’s FA Cup third-round win against Shrewsbury. “We have at the moment, a tricky situation for every club I think in the Premier League,” the Southampton manager said. “Everybody is losing a lot of money in this crisis we are going through. We can only do what we are able to and what is healthy for us. I think Danny shows us that he wants to be with the club, we know that he is an important player for us. “I hope that we find an agreement and finally he stays with us. If not, life will go on, and this club will also exist and, hopefully, we can find a way that we can both live with.” Initial contract negotiations between Ings and Southampton started last summer. The former Liverpool man had finished the season with 25 goals in all competitions to help fire the St Mary’s side to an 11th-place finish. Everyone was feeling optimistic about the future ahead, yet an agreement still hasn’t been reached… Why the delay, then? To start, it’s worth noting these contract talks remain at a very delicate stage. Discussions have continued to take place over the past week or so. The Athletic understands Ings plays no part in the negotiations. He leaves that to his long-time agent. Contrary to reports, money has never been an issue. Southampton have offered the 28-year-old a financial package that would see him become their highest-paid player. Yes, he’d be earning more than current top earner Fraser Forster. But that isn’t important to Ings. It never has been. The wages offered have already been agreed between the two camps. It’s about the opportunity of playing for a top club. A report in the Daily Telegraph explained how Ings was fretting over a new contract as he ambitions of playing in the Champions League. He knows that if he signs a new contract, then it almost certainly rules out the possibility of a side like Manchester United or Manchester City paying what Southampton would deem acceptable. However, if there is a release clause included in the terms of a new deal, that door would stay open. And this strikes right at the very heart of the dilemma facing both Ings and Southampton. It has been claimed Southampton weren’t willing to sign a release clause, although The Athletic is led to believe that isn’t the case. The St Mary’s side were open to the idea if it was a fair price, although the mood has somewhat soured recently. Is a release clause a good idea? Southampton, understandably, are wary of such a clause. Set it too high, and the player simply won’t extend his contract. Set it too low, and the club’s star man may sign a new deal, but what happens next? They still lose him on the cheap next summer. This element of the discussions requires a bit of balance. Southampton can’t expect a significant fee, especially if he wants to leave for another team, but at the same time will want to be properly compensated for his departure. The club and Ings’ representatives are at loggerheads over exactly what the release clause should be. It has been suggested to The Athletic that the two parties may be as far as £20 million apart in their valuations. Ideally, Southampton do not want to sign a contract with a release clause in it, especially if they feel like they are being strong-armed into doing so. But if it’s a fair price and it means Ings will sign, then they will agree to it. There has been plenty of back-and-forth over this part of the discussions. But you could also come to a “gentleman’s agreement” without a release clause, much like what happened with Sir Alex Ferguson and Cristiano Ronaldo when Real Madrid came knocking. It has been suggested to The Athletic that Manchester United would be one of Ings’ preferred destinations should he leave. Southampton’s hierarchy could make assurances to the striker that if a certain club comes calling — one he wants to go to — then they won’t stand in his way, as long as their offer is a reasonable one. It would then be down to trust. So, how is the situation resolved? Well, the longer these talks continue without a breakthrough, it will start to look increasingly unlikely that Ings will commit to a new contract. That would leave both Southampton and Ings heading into the summer rife with uncertainty. From Ings’ perspective, what happens if Manchester City or another Champions League club doesn’t make an offer? Despite his brilliance, he’s suffered two ACL injuries and will be 29 by the start of next season, so won’t carry much in the way of sell-on value. With clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City looking at Borussia Dortmund’s 20-year-old Erling Haaland, how likely is it that Ings is deemed an option? Where would that leave him? Southampton would be reluctant to do business with Tottenham Hotspur unless it was on their terms. Liverpool have moved on. Chelsea could be interested, but they spent heavily on a flurry of attacking players in the summer. Arsenal already have two strikers who are a similar age to Southampton’s star man in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. Ings wouldn’t be interested in joining another club trying to break into the Premier League’s elite group — West Ham United, Everton, Aston Villa or similar. Any move will be to play at the elite level. From Southampton’s stance, what do you do if a top side, realising he’ll be a free agent in 2022, tries getting him on the cheap? On this point, it has been suggested to The Athletic that they’d rather let him leave on a free in 2022 than have their trousers pulled down this summer. But everyone is hopeful it won’t get to that stage. Ings has a brilliant relationship with Hasenhuttl, and it probably helps he doesn’t involve himself in the negotiations. This undoubtedly helps create a tension-free environment. However, that will probably be tested after a story was released saying he has stalled on signing because he wants Champions League football. Is he agitating for a move? No. Ings’ only focus is on playing football. The striker leaves contract negotiations to his agent, who speaks to Southampton’s hierarchy on behalf of his client. There has been no suggestion that the 28-year-old is trying to force his way out of the club. He is perfectly happy at St Mary’s. This is all about not closing the door on the possibility of a bigger side trying to sign him. As we’ve seen from his performances this season, his effort levels haven’t dropped. Seven Premier League goals in 13 games attest to that. What happens if he doesn’t sign a new deal and no clubs come in for him? This is incredibly difficult to answer. The idea that he could then decide to commit his future to the club would be a tough pill to swallow for some, especially as he would have made his intentions clear about leaving. But then if you are Southampton, would you cut your nose off to spite your face? After all, this is one of the Premier League’s best strikers. There is also the possibility that, upon realising he isn’t going to sign before the summer, Southampton start exploring replacements in the anticipation that Ings will be leaving. If that’s the case, would the Ings ship have sailed? It would then become a scenario where they are looking to sell him to make way for their recruit. The answer to this question will ultimately depend on how both parties feel if that day comes. There are countless scenarios to consider for both club and player, which is why nothing is close to being signed yet. Talks will continue to take place in the coming weeks, and it will soon become clear whether he will sign or not. But remember, if he signs, it doesn’t mean he’s staying for the duration of that deal…
Assuming the Torygraph article is true, was it leaked? Seems a bit tactless although we may have guessed this was a motivation.
Surely it makes sense for both parties to agree on a release clause. That way Saints don't get screwed over and the door is still open for Ings to play in the Champions League.