Bayer Leverkusen have joined the race for Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina, according to reports.

French website Footmercato.net are reporting that the German club have also shown their interest in the player Arsenal have been linked with this summer. Lemina only joined the club a year ago, but finding himself unable to break into the starting team for any extended period of time, he has been rumoured to be looking for a move away.

Mario made 29 appearances in all competitions last season, but only 11 of these were starts, a small number considering that means 18 times that he was available but could only get on off the bench.

According to Gunnersphere, reports in the Italian media say Juventus want £17.5m for the player. While a particularly high price, Arsenal already have stiff competition which makes it difficult to imagine the Gunners would bid unless they see him as first-team quality.

With other interested clubs such as Everton and West Ham able to give the player more guarantees of regular game time, Arsenal could be Lemina’s third or fourth preference.