It Could Be A Nice Ending For Mario Lemina At Southampton
Four years ago Mario Lemina arrived at St Mary's with great expectations, now he is set to move to France more than two years after his last appearance in a Saints shirt, which will be great news for the Saints transfer kitty.
Media sources in France are claiming that Mario Lemina could be about to end his spell at Saints in a Nice manner, with OSG Nice said to be at an advanced stage in contract talks with the midfielder.
With a year left on his contract and clubs struggling with finances due to Covid 19 just how much his fee would be open to debate, he was signed for around £15 million back in 2017, but his value had dropped since.
Saints have managed to recoup some money in loan fees from Fulham and Galatasaray, somewhere between £2.5-3 million and his current value is said to be around £9 million, but getting that will be difficult in today's market.
Newcastle United are also said to be interested in signing the player who will turn 28 in September and the hope here is that it will push up his asking price in a mini bidding war.
The player himself might also be willing to take a drop in his salary , said to be around £45 k a week, in order to secure a four year contract that will enable him to be financially secure into his 30's.
From Saints perspective it is about putting a bit more cash in the transfer kitty and perhaps more importantly taking a big chunk of the wage bill and enabling us to sign on new players.
There will not be many tears shed either amongst the supporters or the Saints hierarchy when Lemina finally departs
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