'Not a perfect situation' - Hasenhuttl determined to keep Spurstarget Ings as contract nears its end

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The forward is going into the final year of his deal at the Premier League club having recently turned down an extension

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is determined to keep Danny Ings at the club, although he admits that the player's contract could pose problems for the Saints.

Ings has just one year remaining on his current deal at St. Mary's, where he has starred since moving from Liverpool in 2018.

That good form has not gone unnoticed, with Tottenham in particular linked with a move for the prolific forward.

"We need this player, we want him to play for us," Hasenhuttl explained to BBC Radio Solent.

"But I think it's never helpful to go into the last season with one year left - this is what I think he should know."

Ings recently rejected a four-year extension offer from Southampton, but his manager is adamant that he will continue to give his best for the club for as long as he remains a Saint.

"Messages like he doesn't accept our contract, he doesn't want to extend his contract, doesn't help nobody - not him, not us. I don't know who sent these messages, it's not coming from our side, definitely not," he added.

"We have no interest in blaming the player or finding that he's not feeling good here at this club, no interest in not helping perform the best he can for us. It's his position and if it's like this, it would be a pity.

"He's our player for another year, we paid a lot of money for him. When we brought him here, we invested a lot to get him to the highest level and how he is at the moment. We stuck with him with all these injuries he had, gave him the time to recover, gave him the time to perform.

"There's no reason to sell him, but it's always a risk for the player when you go into your final year without a contract. That's why it's never good for nobody, not for us, not for him, because you never know what can happen in football - injuries can happen, which nobody wants.

"People on our team are telling him what to do, we have our opinions about what we want him to do. He's our player and we'd love him to be here, but one thing is also clear - when he is not extending his contract, that it is not a perfect situation for him, it's not a perfect situation for us."

2021-07-18 10:00:10

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