In a recent interview with Football FanCast, former Southampton striker Kevin Phillips has claimed that he expects Danny Ings to leave the Saints this summer.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, when asked if he could see the 28-year-old departing, he said:

“Yes I can, as much as Southampton fans won’t thank me for it. I think he even came out at one point and said he wants to play Champions League football, so that suggests to me he would like to move on."

“So I possibly could see him moving on. It’s just a case of, he is a little bit injury prone. We have seen what he can do, I’m not doubting that. I think he’s a fantastic striker, scores great goals, good movement, but he is a little bit injury prone, so I think 'who would take him who would finish in the Champions League spots?'.

“But I do think that he’ll probably be angling for a move come the summer.”

Whilst Phillips' claim does seem to be a fair one, with the former Liverpool man having reportedly expressed an interest in playing European football again in the near future, recent injury setbacks for the England international might just put some clubs off signing him this summer.

The striker enjoyed an injury-free campaign last season and scored a superb 22 goals in 38 Premier League appearances and looked set to repeat that feat with a superb start to the 2020/21 campaign.

However, he has struggled with minor injury problems since the New Year, which has, unsurprisingly, coincided with Southampton's awful run of form, and he has just three goals in 12 appearances in 2021.

He suffered another setback in the 2-0 win against Sheffield United recently, which will keep him sidelined for another couple of weeks, and you feel that, given his injury history, top four clubs may well feel that it is too big a risk to bring him in for the sort of money that Southampton would likely demand this summer.

His last big move to Liverpool, unfortunately, didn't go to plan because of significant injury problems and after his recent Issues, despite being minor in comparison to those he suffered at Anfield, might just prove to be a key factor in whether or not a club playing in Europe comes knocking during the summer transfer window, which might just work in Southampton's favour.

However, all signs suggest that Phillips is right and that Ings will push for a move this summer, which won't go down well with Saints fans. Whether he gets his move, or not, remains to be seen.

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