According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle are willing to pay £5million for Southampton’s Mario Lemina.
The midfielder emerged as a target back in April, when the Guardian stated that the Magpies and West Ham were keen.
The report also claimed that Southampton wanted a fee in the region of £7million.
Lemina’s contract at Southampton is set to expire next summer, meaning this is their last chance to get decent money for him.
The 27-year-old arrived at St Mary’s back in 2017 for a then club record fee of an initial £15.4million.
However, he’s fallen out of favour since the arrival of Ralph Hasenhuttl.
In 2019/20 he went on loan to Galatasaray, while last season he was with Fulham. Sadly, that ended in relegation.
But while Fulham are heading to the Championship, Lemina is heading back to Southampton. But potentially not for long.
Mario Lemina report sums of Mike Ashley’s tenure at Newcastle
According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle are hopeful about signing him.
However, they state they are willing to offer £5million as opposed to the £7million fee that was originally touted.
While Mike Ashley remains hopeful about selling the club, this is a transfer that reeks of his tenure.
A recently relegated player whose contract is expiring in the next 12 months, meaning his value has decreased. Yet even still, the club want to pay less than the asking price.
Transfers are never easy when it comes to Newcastle with Ashley and Lee Charnley calling the shots.
While Lemina might be a decent addition, he’s hardly the most inspiring. And even then, the club will drag out every single transfer saga as they look to save every last penny.
£5million would be a bargain for Lemina, but will Southampton really want to sell him for a third of what they initially paid four years ago? It depends how desperate they are.
And if they are that desperate, perhaps we should be having second thoughts…
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