Newcastle United might need to pay as much as £8m for Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina if they want to sign the Gabonese international during this summer’s transfer window. This is according to the publication via The Athletic which stated that the Saints want the aforementioned transfer fee, add-ons inclusive, if they are to do a deal with the Magpies for the player.
Gabon midfielder Lemina was on loan at London team Fulham throughout last season. He was one of the Cottagers’ best players but could not save the club from demotion from the Premier League to the English Championship. His biggest contribution came at Anfield when he scored the only goal of the game to give Fulham a famous 1-0 win over defending champions Liverpool.
Apart from Newcastle United, Watford are also interested in signing Lemina.
Newcastle United have been in talks with the Saints over Lemina according to the Daily Mail and are ready to pay just £4m for him but his club wants at least two times the fee being offered for the player by the Northeast club. Initially, Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley didn’t want to pay any transfer fee for him before his staff convinced him to do otherwise.
Lemina has been in preseason training with Southampton since returning from his loan spell at Fulham. He has also spent some time on loan at Turkish giants Galatasaray during his time at the St. Mary’s Stadium. He joined Southampton from Italian club Juventus in a deal worth £18.1m four years ago and has played 52 times for the Saints in all competitions since then.