Arsenal, Manchester United and Leicester City are all interested in a deal for Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina, which will cost at least £18m.
The news broke on Tuesday morning, with pretty much every single English outlet getting involved in reporting the story.
Simon Peach of the Press Association reported that the three clubs had all enquired over the player, but none had met Southampton’s valuation just yet.
He added that the Saints are ready to cash in on the player, but they want the money they spent on him back (£15.6m).
Jack Rosser and James Olley of the Evening Standard write the same thing, though they claim the fee to sign Lemina in 2017 was closer to £18m.
Sam Dean of the Telegraph reports that Lemina has told manager Ralph Hasenhuttl that he wants to leave this summer, and once again, Dean confirms Arsenal, United and Leicester’s interest.
Lemina was left out of Southampton’s pre-season trip to Austria (via Daily Mail) after he said at the weekend: “The last four months have not been easy for me, with my injury. The coach put his team together. I want to start afresh. So why not leave?”
James Benge of Football.London has also confirmed Arsenal and Manchester United’s interest in the player.
Mario Lemina: Of the 76 players to attempt 90+ dribbles, only Mousa Dembele (84.3%) has a better dribble success rate than @LeminaM_13 (79.6%) since the start of the 2017/18 Premier League season
For more player stats — https://t.co/ay65wfREGT pic.twitter.com/W2H2QZx3pU
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 9, 2019
Lemina came close to joining Arsenal back in 2017, but Arsene Wenger reportedly blocked the move, preferring to focus on signings in other positions. Given Aaron Ramsey’s departure, perhaps this could be the right time to finally make it happen.