Southampton CEO, Martin Semmens has claimed that Danny Ings is happy at St Mary’s amidst reports that Tottenham are interested in snapping up striker in the summer.
It was reported last week that Spurs were planning an approach for the England international at the end of the season, with the player said to be stalling over signing a new deal at St Mary’s.
With the striker’s current deal running out in the summer of 2022, he will just have a year left to run on his contract at the end of this season if he does not put pen to paper.
It has been suggested that Jose Mourinho is a huge fan of the former Liverpool man but the Tottenham boss refused to get drawn into the rumours linking the club with the move for the Saints star during his press conference on Friday.
When asked about the speculation on Ings’ future, Semmens told The Daily Mail: “The conversations have gone on and we have had talks with Danny, they’ve been 100 per cent professional.
“Danny is very happy here, he wants to stay with the club and we have enjoyed having him.”
Reports indicate that it is not the salary Southampton have offered that is putting Ings off from singing a new deal but that the sticking point is said to be the value of the release clause.
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While Semmens did not get into specifics as to why the 28-year-old has not signed, he did confirm that the issue is not with the striker’s wage demands.
He added: “Money is 100 per cent not the issue. Danny has put us under no pressure to provide finances that we are not comfortable with. Those rumours are not true.
“Danny is focused on playing games for us and does not want to talk about his future contract. I think people forget that they are humans.
“He has a contract with us for 18 months and he will be with us for that time and we will sit down and talk about the future at some time before then.
“There are no issues. I know everybody is looking for a story but he has a contract with us and we hope he will stay beyond that.”
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Reading between the lines of Semmens’ statement, he certainly does not seem overly confident that Ings will sign a new deal. His statement suggests that perhaps the striker is keen to prove himself at the top level after his failed stint at Liverpool. If he does not sign a contract until the end of the season, one suspects there will be many clubs after the 28-year-old’s signature in the summer.
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