Southampton could be about to make a move for former attacker Danny Ings, with Gazzetta dello Sport, via West Ham Zone reporting that he could be allowed to leave West Ham.

How many goals has Danny Ings scored?

The 30-year-old currently plays for West Ham, having only just linked up with the club in January. He was able to play 17 times in the Premier League for the Hammers, albeit only seven of those were starts.

Still, he managed a tidy return of two goals and two assists in those fixtures. Prior to that, he had played for Aston Villa for two campaigns, managing 13 goal contributions during his first season with the Villans in the league. In fact, his rate with the Midlands outfit never dropped below 0.6 goal contributions per 90 during his time there – meaning he was largely good for a goal or assist in every other top flight game he featured in.

His most prolific time though came during when he played in a Southampton shirt. He has more league goals for them than anyone else in his career and his overall goal contribution rate of 0.68 per 90 is also the best he has ever produced. Playing for them for just three seasons, he managed 91 league outings with 41 goals and nine assists. He could never help the Saints to break into the top half of the Premier League, but he has racked up 104 league goals across the divisions in English football.

Are Southampton signing Danny Ings?

Now, according to a report from Gazzetta dello Sport, via West Ham Zone, the forward could be set for a return to St Mary's Stadium this summer. That's because West Ham have already decided they may sell the 30-year-old this transfer window, with a need for the Irons to clear out some of their attacking options.

It means that Ings could be shown the door – and if he is, there could be a chance for him to link back up with Southampton according to the report. One word of warning the report for excited Saints fans though, as they believe Ings is the less likely of the Hammers' current strikers to be sold, behind Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio.

Ings was praised for his abilities in front of goal not too long ago by former teammate Matty Cash, who hailed how "brilliant" Ings was during his time at Aston Villa. He stated that the Englishman was "one of the smartest players" he had ever lined up alongside and added that any striker needs to watch the player in action.

The 30-year-old has still got the capability to hit the back of the net in his locker and still has plenty of years left to do so – and with Southampton, he could return to the club where he was arguably the most prolific. If the Saints could get him firing as he previously did with them in the Championship, it could be a huge boost in terms of a push for promotion.