Danny Ings is reportedly holding off on signing a new deal with Southampton because he wants to return to a Champions League club this summer.
The former Liverpool striker traded Anfield for St Mary's in the summer of 2018 and has flourished on the south coast, scoring 25 goals in all competitions last season and finding the back of the net seven times in 14 games already this term - despite a minor knee problem.
The Telegraph report that Southampton are "prepared to make Ings the best-paid player in their history to commit to the next four years" and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has encouraged the talisman to put pen to paper, describing the new deal as "fantastic".
Ings signed for Liverpool in 2015 but fortune abandoned the frontman almost as soon as Jurgen Klopp arrived on Merseyside in October that year.
At just 23 he had enjoyed a bright start to life at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers but just one week after the Northern Irish manager was replaced, the frontman ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments and was forced to sit on the sidelines for an extended spell.
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More knee surgery was required in October the following year and by the time Ings had battled back to full fitness, Liverpool were a very different unit with the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all well-established as a world-class attacking triumvirate while Daniel Sturridge remained in reserve.
There wasn't really room for anyone else in the Reds front line when Ings left in the summer of 2018, even though Sturridge would depart on loan to West Bromwich Albion midway through the following season, and so he headed for the Southampton looking to reignite his career and make up for lost time - which he most certainly did.
The report says that Ings has "always been convinced he could return to a Champions League club with an injury-free run" and he has been without any issues since the summer of 2017 with his goalscoring and form over the past two seasons propelling him back into the England squad.
"The player’s key consideration [over signing the contract at Southampton] is not financial but to give himself the best possible opportunity to play at the highest level again," it adds.
"The transfer market is in flux with the effects of Covid-19, although it is possible that the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and even his former club, Liverpool, might be in the market for a striker this summer."
