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Southampton have moved quickly after the departure of Danny Ings to ask about the availability of Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, according to a report.

Ings was linked with an exit from Southampton for a few months as the final year of his contract approached. The striker eventually sealed his transfer away on Wednesday, catching some by surprise by joining Aston Villa. He had been holding out for a move to a club of European stature, but that is the direction Villa are aiming in.

Southampton should not be too surprised by their talisman’s departure, so will likely have had some contingency plans in the back of their minds for a while. Now that Ings has left, those ideas for his succession are already firming up.

According to talkSPORT, Southampton would like to take England striker Abraham on loan. The 23-year-old has been Chelsea’s top scorer for the past two seasons in a row, but has fallen out of favour under Thomas Tuchel.

Chelsea are working on a deal to re-sign Romelu Lukaku, which would further block Abraham’s pathway back to regular minutes. Therefore, the Blues have been willing to listen to offers for him, but won’t let him go on the cheap.

Abraham has been mentioned as a target for Arsenal and West Ham, while Villa were also linked before they took Ings. But his asking price has so far proved off-putting for all his suitors, as would his wage demands.

Southampton, though, believe there may still be a chance that Chelsea could sanction a loan departure for Abraham. It would seemingly benefit all parties until player and club can work out a more long-term solution.

Chelsea would still prefer to sell Abraham permanently so they can recoup some decent funds. However, as the market progresses over the next month, they will have to consider their options.

Abraham is not the only striker Southampton are considering to fill their Ings-shaped void; Ralph Hasenhuttl is an admirer of Blackburn Rovers forward Adam Armstrong, as per The Athletic. He could offer the former Newcastle man the step back up to the Premier League.

However, Armstrong too comes with a valuation that is higher than ideal for Southampton, despite their pockets being deeper after the sale of Ings.

Abraham has Italian admirers

Meanwhile, another club considering Abraham is Atalanta, due to a potential merry-go-round of strikers.

It has been speculated that, should Lukaku leave Inter for Chelsea, the Serie A champions will try to sign Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata.

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That will leave the Bergamo-based side in need of a new striker of their own. Funnily enough, there have been indications that they would look to Lukaku’s potential buyers, by targeting Abraham.

The former Bristol City, Swansea and Aston Villa loanee has never played abroad. However, he will be considering all his options as he aims to get back into England contention.

READ MORE: Everton deal there for the making, but suitor prefers expensive Chelsea flop

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