Danny Ings leaves Liverpool as Reds seal £20m deal with Southampton in last-gasp deadline day move
The 26-year-old striker has joined Saints initially on a season-long loan but they are committed to buying the England international next summer
Danny Ings' Liverpool career is over after he sealed a last-gasp £20million move to Southampton on deadline day. The 26-year-old striker has joined Saints initially on a season-long loan but they are committed to buying the England international next summer. Ings , who has agreed a four-year contract with his boyhood club, will officially join the South Coast outfit on a permanent basis on July 1 2019. Liverpool are guaranteed to bank £18million with a further £2million to potentially follow in add-ons related to appearances. The Reds have also negotiated a 20% sell-on clause. Southampton narrowly beat the clock to secure Ings' services after leaving it late to thrash out an agreement with Liverpool on Thursday afternoon.
With the deal sheet submitted to the Premier League just before the 5pm cut off, they managed to complete all the relevant paperwork within the two-hour extension limit.
Ings could make his debut for Southampton in Sunday's clash with his former club Burnley at St Mary's.
It represents a dream move for Ings, who informed Jurgen Klopp of his desire to leave earlier this summer in search of regular first-team football.
Crystal Palace and Leicester City also showed interest but Southampton was always his first choice.
Winchester-born Ings grew up supporting Saints and started his career at the club's Academy before being released at the age of 10 after he's told he was too small to make the grade. He subsequently joined Bournemouth and made the breakthrough there before signing for Burnley in 2011. Ings moved to Anfield in the summer of 2015 but after a bright start he ruptured his ACL shortly after Klopp's appointment.
Shortly after making his comeback in 2016, he suffered another serious knee injury which kept him out for 11 months.
Last season he regained fitness but was limited to just three starts and 11 substitute outings.
The £20million deal represents a significant profit for the Reds, who had to pay Burnley £6.5million following a tribunal. In total Ings scored four goals in 25 appearances for Liverpool. Klopp didn't want to lose him but he's delighted that Ings has got a move which gives him the chance to kick-start his career after a frustrating few years.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/danny-ings-leaves-liverpool-reds-15011820
