As you can imagine social media went mad when the news came out that Danny ings had departed suddenly for Aston Villa, strangely the early reactions from the club have been deafening, but the manager has spoken.

When it emerged last night on Aston Villa's official website that they had signed Danny Ings the internet went mad, all the big media outlets carried the story and social media went into meltdown.

But one website was strangely mute, that of Southampton FC, who made and as of 7.30am Thursday morning still have not made an official announcement that Ings has left the club.

This suggests that they are not happy with his departure, they will have been aware that he may leave, there is no doubt of that, but it seems that the events of Wednesday came right out of the blue and gave them no opportunity to try and create a market where they could potentially drive up the price.

Most were surprised that it was Aston Villa that he signed for, Saints fans could accept that he would leave for Champions league football, even Europa League, but to go to Villa a club who finished 11th last season and are in the process of selling their best player suggests that Ings had been made an offer he could not turn down financially and was not willing to wait to see if he could get a move to a big club.

Villa have a lot of money to spend, but not a lot more and in some cases less than the 10 clubs that finished in front of them last season.

But although the fans will feel a little let down, this is football and it is just business and Ralph Hasenhuttl will know that as well as anyone and he may well feel that the money received from Ings will enable him to strengthen his squad.

In simple terms he has to find 12 Premier League goals next season, can he buy a striker that can achieve that, ironically a year ago Aston Villa signed Ollie Watkins from Brentford who did that and more, could Adam Armstrong replicate that.

This is what Ralph had to say:

“We had a fantastic player over a few years who helped us a lot staying in the league,”

“Finally, he didn’t decide to sign a new contract for us. He’s decided to go somewhere else, which is his right, but we lose a fantastic player and person, and get a lot of money for him with only one year left."

“I think it’s a deal where we only have winners on every side. We can replace him and we must replace him to get a player who scores goals for us."

“I know that we have a few others in our team who must step up now, but it is clear that we have this money, and we need this money for maybe bringing two more players into this squad that we need.”

So of course Ralph will be disappointed to lose Danny Ings, but he is also confident that he can reinvest the money well and move the squad forward.

Lets be honest this is not a new situation for Southampton FC and the one good thing is that it has happened early on and we have time to replace Ings.

The one thing we all have to do now is give the manager and Southampton Football Club some time to show they can use the situation to their advantage, after all it was only 3 years ago some were complaining that we had signed a crock from Liverpool and two years ago many suggested that he was not worth paying £20 million for.

All I am saying is that let's not moan about something before it has happened or in this case hasn't happened. !

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 09:15 - Aug 5 It seems to me that Saints are building for the future, whether it be in the EPL or the Championship. The recent arrival of young potential stars from Chelsea and elsewhere and the blooding of a few of our own seems to bear out the fact that our financial position has forced this policy on our club. On paper it looks as though we are in for a very difficult season and Ralph will do well if he secures our survival in the top division. The sale of Ings might generate a couple of shrewd purchases and we will only know in hindsight whether his departure was a blessing in disguise for us. Either way, the club somehow needs to generate a good feeling amongst the fans and get some points on the board early doors to alleviate what I perceive to be general disillusionment with both our club and football in general. Interesting rather than exciting times ahead.

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Chesham_Saint added 09:56 - Aug 5 Fans feel a “little let down”? That’s the understatement of the day. A top 6 club I could accept, but Aston Villa? Ings turns out to be yet another journeyman, mercenary, two-faced fvck-wit. WAC.
4

IanRC added 10:05 - Aug 5 Agree Halftimeorange, hopefully the money will be spent wisely although I do not rule out Adams and Tella having real breakthrough seasons. Ings has revealed himself as a classless mercenary, could of signed a contract and encouraged a bidding competition but chose to sign for a side that has little hope of a European place for a presumably large salary. Hard to wish him well to be honest.

4

LordDZLucan added 10:17 - Aug 5 This transfer proves how little respect the modern day player has for the fans that adore them and pay their wages. Danny Ings implied that he wanted to leave to play in Europe and then moves to a club that hasn't been near European football for quite a few years. All Ings wants is money and he's prepared to destroy his reputation at St. Marys to get it. How can we, as fans, be expected to build a bond with the players when we know that they don't really care about us and will jump ship at the first opportunity. I'm that close to jacking Premier League football in and going to watch football at a lower level where there is a lot more honesty.

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DorsetIan added 11:05 - Aug 5 All very well to criticise Ings, but Villa are demonstrating an ambition in the Premier League that Saints simply aren't. Most people watching from the outside see a club, with Gao in charge, trying to make ends meet and stay in the league. The players will be a lot closer to what's going on. If a club with, quite clearly, much more ambition is coming in for you and offering you more money. Seriously, what are you going to do? We have once again sold one of our best players. I will be very surprised if JWP doesn't follow him. Got to look at the ambition of the club. Got to look at the owner we've got.

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barry_sanchez added 11:21 - Aug 5 What ambition have the club showed in the last 3 years? What objectives have they set out before the fans to digest? None, so you can't blame players for wanting to go if there are no clear goals, the semi final last year sums the club up perfectly.
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Sadoldgit added 11:46 - Aug 5 As Saints hold his contract until next year I am assuming that they must have agreed to sell him. I can’t see how a deal could have been done without the clubs agreement or knowledge?
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EvertonSaint added 11:47 - Aug 5 Another player that seems to think ‘the grass is greener elsewhere. All this talk about wanting to play at a higher level and he goes to Villa? Money has played an incredible part in this transfer. There are too many examples of players thinking that life will be better elsewhere. As much as we appreciate his contribution over the last theee years, injuries were occurring more and more so have Saints done the right thing? Only time will tell. I just hope we beat Villa twice this season while Ings is on the treatment table.

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Monksway added 12:32 - Aug 5 I think Saints will have pushed this deal through. £30 million is better than expected. No offers from bigger clubs. Avoided protracted uncertainty. If Ings stays fit he will score 10-15 goals and keep Villa in the top half. Went be easy to find another genuine Premier League striker but I don't think we had much choice.
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Colburn added 13:17 - Aug 5 The top level of football began to lose its soul when agents obtained their power. The false illusion of money buying happiness is lost on most players and we've seen many leave for 'better things' only to drop below the standards they set with us and appear less happy than they were. The culture we have to create is bringing in players who don't see their primary objective as finding a way out of the club again as soon as possible and instead actually want to buy in to the clubs direction and objectives until a genuinely top offer is received where the club couldn't stand in their way. I have not been happy with Ralph's decisions but I think we have to clear out those who don't really want to be here and it can only do harm if they stay. Ings was one of them.. The one caution is the sale of Targett, a saints fan who wasn't wanting out and I don't think we did the right thing with him, either in a footballing sense or his best interests at the time. So in some ways the club shouldn't be surprised...

3

SanMarco added 15:40 - Aug 5 Now that this has sunk in the question I ask is: who created that folksy narrative of Ings the local boy coming home and who assigned loyalty, lack of greed and high motives to him? I suspect it was us, the long-suffering fans. We always do it, and of course we do. There is no fun in cheering on graceless, greedy feckers who don't give a damn about us. We assigned Koeman, MoPo, Lallana, Spiderman etc with values they simply didn't have. Ings never said he would finish his career at Saints but there were two things (correct if I am wrong on this) that he did say. One was that money WASN'T an issue, the second was that he might want to leave Saints to play CL football. If he did say those things then he is a liar. He will, of course, not care a jot about what we think but I certainly hope his career fizzles out now. I know that lies are the fashion now but I hate liars. And you Ings are a liar. PS - little bit of me wonders if there was something else behind this as well. Did he not get on with Ralph perhaps? There was that story about half-time in the Leicester fiasco...

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codge added 16:09 - Aug 5 You could tell by the way he played in preseason he wanted out,hopefully we will find someone who can stay fit and prove to be a better option.
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Newdawn2014 added 16:19 - Aug 5 I assume that the BIG clubs were not interested enough then ? from a players perspective could they officially say " I want to go to ... where ever " I don`t wish him ill , quite frankly my dear I don`t give a damn ! crack on, support the team or don`t . COYS
2

SaintStu7 added 18:02 - Aug 5 Really terrible feeling from this move but only for some reason I thought better of him. It’s not an indictment on Saints its an indictment as previously mentioned on modern football. Wish we could have some loyalty but clearly that is a thing of the past. If Ings want to sell his sole then stuff him and move on. Crap period of football but I will still support the players who turn out with fingers crossed they don’t turn out like assholes.

2

NewburySaint added 20:01 - Aug 5 Good money for somebody in the last year of his contract and for someone who clearly didn’t want to play for OUR club….. Another sad indictment of the top level modern day footballer as someone, who although professes he is playing for his boyhood club and has allegedly been offered the biggest contract in the club’s history, is still prepared to go elsewhere for the money and not for the chance of winning trophies or even playing European football-injury permitting I bet he’s in Southgate’s next England squad though! Just like Lallana I hope Ings is never welcomed back in the future as an employee, or ambassador, in any capacity at Southampton FC-there are more loyal and honest ex employees than these 2!

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saintmark1976 added 20:53 - Aug 5 SanMarco, interestingly I believe I may also have heard the very story to which you obliquely refer In your P S. Does make one wonder does it not?
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PeterL22 added 21:39 - Aug 5 Sorry he is going as it makes Championship a serious possibility next season. 30 million bid for Ollie Watkins anyone?
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sidsaint added 22:58 - Aug 5 He didn't even have the decency to say a word about the club in his "leaving" statement. I can't recall anyone leaving us without some sort of thanks. There must be more to come out.
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Billeewithers added 07:45 - Aug 6 Reading in the echo about Ings reasons for leaving ..... it all appears a little lame on his part ....a challenge I couldn’t shy away from ...hahahahah.... I’ve been in loads of clubs and so he bangs on. For me he comes over as a bit of a thick footballler who is only concerned with his pay packet. Aston villa have done one or two things over my lifetime which were noteworthy 40 years ago! Nothing much otherwise over 60 plus years. Will the money get them up there ..... look at Everton even Man city took a while ....with bank loads of money. I just don’t buy what he says Also like Shearer he reportedly had little to say about Saints.!!?? Good luck and won’t be visiting him in hospital when he needs another operation.

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underweststand added 06:33 - Aug 7 Whilst I share the feelings of others (above).... we sometimes forget that footballers careers (especially at Prem. level) can be short and often very disappointing. Danny came back from TWO career-threatening injuries and (as others have pointed out) might well have been in the Euro squad had Southgate not been manager at this time (and DI knows how to score penalties, too). Those who felt he should have been in the England team long ago are not without a voice and maybe a higher profile club may get him into the World Cup squad next year. Danny is at the crossroads of his playing time and this is - the beginning of the end of his top level career. Three or four years at Villa will certainly top up his pension fund when he becomes unemployed at age 33, whilst many people of a similar age are just building their careers in other (less strenuous) professions. We can all acknowledge that (nowadays) football is all about money, but sad as it is, Danny is just one of many who can already see " the dark at the end of the tunnel " in their careers which may well be sadder place to be at 35, no matter how much money you may have in the bank. Sorry to lose him, but he has a right to decide his own life and I wish him well.

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