Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts insists that the club should have pursued a deal to sign Danny Ings from Southampton in the summer transfer window.

Ings made the move to Aston Villa in the summer, with Dean Smith’s side paying £25m to bring him in from the Saints.

Since his arrival, the striker has scored twice and laid on two assists in the league, having scored 46 times in 100 games for Southampton.

Spurs did not manage to sign a new striker in the summer transfer window and instead strengthened in other areas.

Harry Kane, of course, was at the centre of a transfer saga in the summer, as Manchester City pursued a deal; they did not reach an agreement, with Spurs holding out for £150m.

Roberts claims that Ings should have been brought in, potentially as a back-up to Kane or as a strike partner.

And he feels that there was only likely to be a deal struck if Kane did depart for the Etihad Stadium.

He said: “I think if Man City would have offered £150m for Harry Kane, I think we’d have got one. I don’t know who, but we’d have got one. I do not know why we didn’t go for the Southampton lad, Ings. He went for £25m, an absolute snip.

“There’s other players out there that we could have gone for but we seem to be going for Italian players or French and I’m not sure that’s the right route.”