Ralph Hasenhuttl has sent Southampton striker Danny Ings a message as the speculation around his future continues.

Hasenhuttl pushes Ings

Ings has been offered a new contract at St. Mary's Stadium. His current deal still runs until 2022, but the Saints are eager to see him commit his long-term future to the club.

Hasenhuttl has been talking about his star striker's situation at the club, and he has made it clear that he does not rely on one single player - if Ings does not want to sign a new deal, Southampton will move on. The boss said:

"Danny has come from a bigger club and he knows what he has, now he is here.

"I see in every training session how much he enjoys playing here, but he also sees that there are now more and more players committing to our way and signing new contracts.

"As I said, who wants to be part of this, is invited to come.

"I think the offer we made him is a fantastic one and, in my opinion, we showed him how much we want him to stay here and the rest is on him.

"Now he has to take the responsibility for this and we will have to live with it too.

"We are not addicted to one player only and we must always have a squad that can replace anybody.

"We have a good core now after extending contracts and we have a few players negotiating.

"We are building the future at the moment and those who want to come with us are heartily invited."

Strong mindset

It is fantastic to see Hasenhuttl refusing to put too much importance on Ings. In reality, he will know the £18m-valued former Liverpool forward (Transfermarkt) is vital to the success of his team, as his 28 goals in his last 46 Premier League matches reveal. However, he cannot afford to be held to ransom by any specific player.

If Ings does move on, Southampton will too. Plenty of top players have been and gone at St. Mary's - the south-coast outfit are no strangers to losing some of their star performers - so Ings will just be the latest addition to an ever-growing list. He does appear to be enjoying his football under Hasenhuttl, though - hopefully that will be enough to convince him to stay at the club.

In other news, the price has been set for the Southampton target compared to Lionel Messi.