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Liverpool are waiting for Danny Ings’ contract to expire so that they can sign him and begin the arbitration process that would set the training compensation fee owed to Burnley for the 22-year-old striker. Burnley continue to expect a fee of around £7M via arbitration, while journalists with ties to Liverpool who have been briefed by the club suggest they hope to only pay around £4M for him.
None of that may matter, though, with reports in the tabloids that Tottenham have beaten Liverpool by offering Burnley an actual transfer fee rather than dragging it out as Liverpool are intent on doing. In order to convince Burnley to forgo arbitration, Spurs have reportedly offered a hefty £12M for Ings, with it believed that their bid has been accepted. If true, it will now be up to Ings if he negotiates with Spurs or waits for Liverpool.
Even if Ings would prefer a Liverpool move, Spurs bidding £12M would potentially be disastrous, as Burnely could argue that it helps to set Ings’ market value at any arbitration hearing. This would likely drive the awarded compensation fee into eight figures. Spurs, though, are reportedly trying to avoid that, and speculation is that the high bid is intended to force the issue given they know Ings would choose Anfield head to head.
A complicating factor could also be provided by Real Sociedad, who have been interested in Ings for some time. That they aren’t in the same federation means arbitration would be overseen by UEFA rather than the FA, and their differing standards of compensation mean Burnley would receive a fee in the hundreds of thousands rather than millions. This could allow them to offer Ings higher wages than either Spurs or Liverpool.
