Mourinho comments on Danny Ings speculation

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has responded to speculation linking the club with a January or summer move for Danny Ings, but ultimately refused to discuss another club’s player at length.

Ings is out of contract in the summer of 2021 and reportedly wants to leave Southampton in order to play for a club in the Champions League.

Tottenham have emerged as the club at the front of the queue to land the England striker, with reports suggesting he could be brought in to provide competition for Harry Kane.

Mourinho did provide a response with regards to whether Spurs need a new striker this January, saying:

“Let’s go bit by bit… Two strikers, we are not a team that needs a third striker because the third striker is Sonny [Heung-min Son]. We don’t need more than two. We have the best. We are happy with Carlos [Vinicius]. Carlos is not our player. He is a Benfica player but he is one that we are helping to develop and he is helping us when he is asked for. We are happy with the situation. 

As for Ings, though, Mourinho didn’t confirm or deny the rumours.

“Ings, I refuse totally to say any word about him because he is a Southampton player and I respect that.”

Though Ings could potentially leave for free in the summer, Southampton manager Ralph Hassenhuttle previously claimed that the Saints would only accept an offer they could not refuse if they were to consider letting him go midway through the campaign.

“If he doesn’t sign a new contract, then he stays with us, and I only sell him if there is an offer that we definitely cannot avoid,” the Austrian insisted.

The former Liverpool striker has been in good form this season, scoring seven goals in 12 starts in the Premier League.

Last season, he netted 22 times in the league.

Mourinho’s Tottenham are currently fifth in the Premier League, seven points adrift of Man Utd in top spot.