Tottenham will be "kicking themselves" after missing out on Danny Ings to Aston Villa, claims the club's former player Paul Stewart.

According to The Telegraph, Ings was Tottenham's top transfer target this summer, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo looking to play another striker up front with Harry Kane.

However, the plan to make Ings that striker went out of the window when Villa, out of the blue last week, announced that they had signed the 29-year-old from Southampton in a £25m deal.

For Stewart, it is a development that would have left Nuno and Tottenham frustrated. On Ings' move to Villa, he told TT:

"Nobody expected Ings to become a Villa player. I don't think anyone predicted it, did they? I certainly didn't. Maybe Spurs will be kicking themselves."

Looking at Ings' goalscoring record over the last couple of seasons, he probably would have been a good addition to this Tottenham side and a suitable strike partner for Kane.

If the north London club can manage to snap up Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan, though, it is hard to imagine fans being too disappointed about missing out on Ings.

According to The Times, the Argentina international, who scored an impressive 17 goals in Serie A last season, is the forward Spurs are now hoping to deploy alongside their vice-captain.