Saints look ready to accept a decent offer on Mario Lemina, but only on their terms and only a permanent deal.

Mario Lemina is wanted by Italian Serie A side Atalanta and it is reported in Italy that Saints have turned down an offer of a season long loan followed by an option for a permanent deal .
But it seems that Saints would be willing to accept the right offer on a permanent deal and it is thought that should Atlanta or for that matter another side put one on the table then they would consider it.

Lemina has at times shown he is the most gifted of the Saints central midfielders, but he has spent a lot of time injured in his two seasons at St Mary's and there have also been rumours of his lifestyle affecting his ability to perform with the consistency needed at the the top level.

Last season Lemina started 18 games plus another 3 as sub scoring only once, but most of those games were before the turn of the New Year and since then he managed only 3 appearances all in the final games of the season and only one in the starting line up.

His first season was very similar, starting 20 and 5 off the bench, Lemina is without a doubt a talented player and has the ability to truly become a top player, but something is holding him back, either temperament or injury and he has not reached the heights he really should have.

Turning 26 in a couple of months, he should have approaching 250 League games to his name, but he has only around half of that number since making his debut as a 19 year old in 2012 for LOrient in French Ligue 1.

Saints have a plethora of central midfielders, James Ward Prowse, Oriol Romeu, Stuart Armstrong and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg making it 5 options for 3 positions and with Callum Slattery pushing for a place and others able to play centrally, it is perhaps the strongest area of the team.

A fit Lemina on the top of his game would be a certainty to play, but he has never shown the consistency needed in his time here and others are in the pecking order ahead of him at the moment.

Therefore although I am sure that Saints would prefer him to stay and become the player he has the capabilities to be, they know that they need to and can afford to sell a player from that department.

Lemina has three years left on his contract so Saints won't be brow beaten and will look to recoup most if not all of the £18 million they paid two years ago.

Atalanta having qualified for the Champions League have that sort of money and need to strengthen, so I would not rule out an offer coming in to take him back to Italy permanently, but Saints will control this transfer and although it represents good business, it will only be if it is right for Saints

Photo: Action Images

Sanguin added 10:44 - Jul 2 I’ve not heard anything about the lifestyle claims you mention? I think Lemina had an issue last season where he never really recovered from the injury he sustained. I think it’s worth considering selling, especially since Lemina appears to be one of our highest earners and we need to get some players off our books. But it feels like he has real potential to kick on and have a stand out season in 2019/20, then his price will soar. I don’t think it’s good business to sell now.

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Lewie_7 added 11:35 - Jul 2 Agreed Sanguin. In todays market it would be hard to replace someone of Leminas quality. Think we missed a beat not signing Aribo from Charlton and considering Leeds are asking for 20m+ for Phillips I don't think central midfield is an area of the pitch we can afford to spend out on
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1teeminants added 11:50 - Jul 2 Aribo chose Rangers instead of Saints . Saints did want him .
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saintlee added 12:05 - Jul 2 Lemina is one of our best players when fit and shouldn't be sold. Hojberg and Lemina in the holding role is a good partñership. Bring back Boufal. Get in a class centre back and we will be very competitive this year. Tip us for a top 10 finish if this happens
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highfield49 added 12:15 - Jul 2 Lemina could be one of our best players if he had his heart in playing for the club. At times his body language has shown complete disinterest and I'd be happy if the club let him move on for a reasonable fee.
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landerwal added 13:04 - Jul 2 Lemina is a good player, but at the level of competitiveness the Premiership is played, consistency has to be the number one priority. This, Lemina has barely shown in the past two seasons. There can be no passengers in any team which want to play at a high level in the Premiership. Plus unfortunately, a like a fair number of our players transferred in over the past few years, has spent more time on the injury list, than actually playing. I thought Lemina was a good buy when I first saw him play for Saints, but given his record here, we should offload him.

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vanmans added 13:39 - Jul 2 Lemina is one of our best midfield players and shouldn't be sold. The weak link in midfield is Ward-Prowse and it is him that should be replaced.
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BaselSaint added 14:35 - Jul 2 Great player - inconsistent - almost no goals - probably doesn`t suit Ralph's philosophy - get rid I'm afraid. A harder working lesser player would give us more.
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SonicBoom added 14:58 - Jul 2 Like Austin and Ings, he only plays half the games. It's not enough. No point having a really good team if they are all fit. They never are. Flog him.
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dirk_doone added 15:16 - Jul 2 Probably the right thing to do to hold out for a permanent deal now. We need to get rid of him permanently. We certainly don't want to get stuck with him going out on loan every year like Clasie.
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wessexman added 17:17 - Jul 2 Lemina had the misfortune of managerial turmoil and questionable fitness. To implement RH's philosophy, he needs a squad which can be relied on, on the whole, to stay fit. Should Saints get a really good offer for him, I say...reluctantly....sell him. He is far better than his performances for us suggested...great shame...but...
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SaintBrock added 17:55 - Jul 2 Act in haste, repent at leisure! Far too early to ditch Mario Lemina. Give him a full season under Hutch and then see where we are.On his day he is electric and reads the game like no other... and he can bloody well tackle without crippling his opponent and getting a string of yellows, probably the only midfielder who is that subtle. Hoj, Drowse and Romeu are like cart horses in comparison.

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DPeps added 06:36 - Jul 3 We may have a plethora of midfielders, but none of them (except Hoj) are consistently very good. Lemina has had persistent injury problems throughout his time at saints, to such a degree that I don't think he's ever been 100%. If there's any chance that he can recover I'd definitely keep as he's a cut above the rest
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TeamCortese added 07:27 - Jul 3 If this club's leadership had any brain-cells the following players would be prioritised over players like Lemina and Boufal for transfer: Charlie Austin (5 - 10 million) Fraser Forster (5 - 10 million) James Ward Prowse (15 - 20 million) Jack Stephens (5 - 10 million) Shane Long (5 - 10 million) Sam Gallagher (5 - 10 million) Wesley Hoedt (5 -10 million) Jordi Clasie (4 - 8 million) Maya Yoshida ( 4 - 8 million) Harrison Reed (4 - 8 million) Cedric Soares (10 -15 million) Guido Carillo (10 - 15 million) Jake Hesketh (4 - 8 million) We could get at the very least 80-90 million for the above players. That would more than enough funds for a decent centre-half, right-back, another striker and even a left-back. The rest can be filled by the academy.

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JimmyMeliaPhD added 09:05 - Jul 3 Team Cortese's post reminds me that we're going to have Long playing for us again next year. For me he is the litmus test...if he's a serious contender for a starting role, we're going nowhere. Plain fact. Lemina is an enigma. Who knows why he is so inconsistent? But I do agree with others above that it would be rash to just get rid, unless it were for silly money. He's got so much potential and perhaps just needs a bit of time.

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