Tottenham fail with approach to sign Danny Ings from Southampton
Tottenham have had a formal approach for Danny Ings rejected by Southampton, who remain hopeful of securing the England striker to a new contract.
Spurs have not bid for the forward but José Mourinho is desperate to bolster his attacking options and has identified Ings as a target, with Harry Kane his only bona fide striker. The club’s pursuit of Gareth Bale on a season’s loan from Real Madrid has moved closer to completion and the Wales international is due to fly to London on Friday.
Tottenham have also expressed interest in signing the Eintracht Frankfurt forward Bas Dost, though the club are not keen on a permanent deal. They were previously thought to be monitoring Callum Wilson, who has joined Newcastle for £20m, and have been offered the Watford striker Troy Deeney.
Southampton sanctioned the sale of their former captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to Spurs in this window but have no interest in selling their talisman Ings, who scored 22 goals last season and finished behind only Jamie Vardy in the race for the golden boot. Several targets have been reluctant to move to Spurs given Kane is the undisputed first-choice striker but Mourinho wants a player to provide competition for the England captain.
The Southampton defender Jack Stephens is set to follow the captain James Ward-Prowse by signing a longterm contract extension after establishing himself as a key player under Ralph Hasenhüttl. The club remain in talks with Ings, who has two years on his deal, and the defender Ryan Bertrand, who has less than 12 months to run on his deal, over new contracts.
The Tottenham defender Jack Roles has joined Burton on loan until January.