Southampton have endured a tumultuous 2019-20 campaign, with some historic lows but a recovery in the second half of the season which has left the club only six points adrift of the 40-point mark.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side won just two of their opening 13 games, but by far the nadir of that spell came when they were humiliated at home to Leicester City in October.
The chastening 9-0 evisceration they received that day is a Premier League record home defeat and left Hasenhuttl on the brink of being sacked, but they eventually managed to steady what looked to be a sinking ship.
Since Christmas the Saints have beaten Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and, perhaps most satisfyingly, Leicester, avenging the 9-0 with a cathartic 2-1 triumph at the King Power Stadium.
Here, the Sports Mole team select who they believe has been Southampton's player of the season.
Barney Corkhill, Editor: Danny Ings
© Reuters
There is really only one man for this award, with Danny Ings not only standing out amongst his Southampton teammates but also holding his own when it comes to the Premier League as a whole.
The 27-year-old's tally of 15 Premier League goals is bettered only by four star players and is more than three times as many as the Saints' next-highest scorer James Ward-Prowse. Indeed, in the entire division only Norwich City's Teemu Pukki has scored a higher proportion of his team's goals.
Those 15 goals have earned Southampton 13 points too, without which they would sit joint-bottom of the table and be staring down the barrel of a return to the Championship. If that wasn't enough to endear him to the St Mary's faithful, he also scored twice against Portsmouth in the FA Cup.
Matt Law, Football Editor: Danny Ings
© Reuters
A record of 15 goals in 29 Premier League appearances is a fine return for any forward, let alone one representing a team in the bottom half of the table.
Ings has been terrific for the Saints during the 2019-20 campaign, and they will do well to keep hold of him beyond the end of this summer's transfer window.
The 27-year-old has not missed a single Premier League game this season, while he has managed 11 league goals more than any other player in the Southampton squad.
Ings also leads the team for shots (68), and he has scored against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal this term. In my view, the striker is comfortably Southampton's player of the season.
Darren Plant, Senior Reporter: Danny Ings
© Reuters
This is one of the most cut-and-dried player-of-the-season votes you are ever going to get.
Simply put, Danny Ings has been a revelation for Southampton this season after contributing 15 goals and one assist from 29 outings, six of which have come from the substitutes' bench. Just two of those strikes came in the same match, away at then-relegation rivals Aston Villa on the back of two defeats in a row.
Ings failed to score in the three matches before the coronavirus pandemic, but the 27-year-old is primarily responsible for keeping the Saints away from the bottom three.
Dan Lewis, Senior Reporter: Danny Ings
© Reuters
This is one of the easier decisions in our player of the season rundown, with Southampton heavily relying on Danny Ings to keep them above the relegation zone.
The former Liverpool striker has put his injury troubles behind him to score 18 goals in all competitions, 15 of those in the league - only four players have netted more in the English top-flight this term.
If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Ings would have been in outside contention for a return to the England squad for Euro 2020.
Ben Knapton, Reporter: Danny Ings
© Reuters
There is only one realistic candidate for Southampton's Player of the Season award for me, Danny Ings.
I do not think anyone could have predicted that the Englishman would hit the 15-goal mark at the start of the season, not to mention his terrible luck with injuries, but Ings has proved the doubters wrong and has been key in Southampton's revival in form.
Only Jamie Vardy, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sergio Aguero and Mohamed Salah have netted more times in the Premier League than Ings this term, and the 27-year-old has definitely earned a recall to the England squad for whenever the Euros takes place.
