SAINTS have confirmed the permanent signing of Danny Ings on a four-year deal from Liverpool for £18.72m.

This follows on from the striker’s loan spell at the club last season, where he scored eight goals in 25 appearances.

The fee will rise by another £2m through add-ons, with it also being reported that Liverpool have obtained a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

Ings said: "It feels good. Obviously, being here for a season already, I felt like it was very up and down for me personally, with a few niggles and small injuries, and that was off the back of not having a strong pre-season going into the season.

“Now I've signed permanently, I feel great. I've looked after myself over the summer and I'm just raring to go for the new season.

"Personally, it's a big season for me. I feel like it's my most exciting really.

“The last few years have been very up and down for me, but now I've looked after myself over this summer and I'm really looking forward to it and hopefully great things can come from it.”

Winchester-born Ings dreamed of playing for Saints as a kid, only to be rejected by them for being too small at the age of 10.

He ended up at Bournemouth before moving to Burnley.

Ings impressed at Turf Moor and was signed by Liverpool in 2015 when his contract came to an end, only for his time at Anfield to be disrupted by injuries.

He ruptured his ACL shortly after Jurgen Klopp’s appointment on Merseyside and kept him out of action until 2016.

Upon his return to the Liverpool side, he suffered another terrible knee injury which ruled him out for a further 11 months.

Ings made his comeback in 2017/18 but struggled to force his way into Klopp’s starting XI, making just 14 appearances, with 11 of those coming from the bench.

The 26-year-old, who grew up in Netley, wanted first team football and became a shock signing for Saints last summer.
Ings’s season got off to a quick start as he netted eight goals in 14 matches.

However, the striker’s campaign started to get broken up with a run of hamstring injuries.

The first setback came in November, which saw him miss Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first match in charge of the club.

His second spell on the sidelines was during the second half of the season when he had to be substituted at Burnley in February. This ruled him out for five matches before he made his return against Brighton.