After a great season last term and a superb start to this one, the media is saying Danny Ings is about to sign a new contract, but should Saints fans be worried about the fact there may be clauses in it.
After an injury hit first season at St Mary's on an initial loan, there were those that questioned Danny Ings ability to stay fit and to score goals, last season answered those questions with Ings starting 32 Premier League games plus the other 6 off the bench and scoring 22 goals, plus another 3 goals in cup competitions.
This season has seen him start just as well with 4 goals in the opening 5 league games, as well as a goal for England against Wales, and now it seems that Saints want to reward the striker with a new deal.
That is good news for Saints fans, but the media reports also say that the contract is likely to include release clauses.
This may alarm some Saints supporters, why would there be a release clause in the contract ? the answer is simple, at 28 Ings would possibly be signing the last big deal of his career, as it is his current term will take him to the age of 30 and for strikers that is a good age.
So whilst it is good that both club and player seem eager to improve his current terms, it perhaps has to come with a safeguard and tat would be possibly in the shape of a release clause stating that should a club of a certain stature or willing to pay a certain fee then the club would not stand in his way and allow him to depart.
From Ings perspective as much as he is enjoying his football at St Mary's and is content to stay, in the back of the mind he must feel frustrated that his time at Liverpool didn't work out through no fault of his own, should a big club come in for him then no one could blame him if he wanted to have one last shot at the big time.
In reality as we know from several big name departures in the past half dozen years, a contract means little these days, the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Jose Fonte were both barely into the first year of long term deals at the club when they suddenly decided that they wanted to leave.
That would be the same with Danny Ings, but it is important for Saints to recognise his ambitions and align them with their own.
So I would say that we have little to worry about that the clause is inserted, for several reasons the main ones being that firstly it will set the details of his release in stone and secondly as contracts are barely worth the paper they are written on these days, what does it matter anyway.
On the plus point it would be good to see Ings rewarded for his contribution to the club and show others we are willing to reward performances on the pitch.