Danny Ings insists joining Aston Villa was "a challenge I couldn't really shy away from".

The English striker left Southampton for Villa this week in a deal worth £30m.

"To be honest, I've been at a lot of places in my career, but this was definitely the best-kept secret really," Ings told VillaTV.

"It's been a crazy couple of days, not being able to tell my family up until it was announced. Now I'm just happy to be here and get started.

"I think the club itself is a huge club, as everybody knows. You can see the direction the owner and everybody wants to take with this club.

"It's a huge club with a huge reputation and huge expectation from the fans. It was a challenge I couldn't really shy away from and a challenge I'm looking forward to."