Premier League strugglers Southampton are expected to sell Mario Lemina this summer; could Ralph Hasenhuttl’s forgotten man stay at Galatasaray?
Mario Lemina doesn’t seem to be counting down the days until he returns to Southampton, telling Fanatik that he is loving life on loan at Galatasaray ahead of what could be a permanent move to the Turkish giants.
Ralph Hasenhuttl must feel like football’s equivalent to Greta Thunberg right now.
Because the Saints coach is facing up to the unenviable task of solving a major problem created by those before him. But, instead of saving the world, Hasenhuttl just wants to save Southampton a penny or two by getting a number of high-earning flops off the wage bill.
The Telegraph reports that Moi Elyounoussi, Wesley Hoedt and Guido Carrillo have all been made available for transfer with Lemina, who joined in a club-record £16 million deal during Mauricio Pellegrino’s ill-fated tenure, also up for sale.
The former Juventus and Marseille ace was farmed out on loan to Galatasaray last summer and it seems that he is open to the idea of staying in Istanbul, which should make Southampton’s task that little bit easier.
“I am very happy in Galatasaray if I speak for myself. We will look at the end of the season (at a permanent deal) and see what happens next,” Lemina said, while hailing his team-mates for recovering from a difficult start to the campaign.
“This is a different Galatasaray. A high level Galatasaray has emerged. The reason for this is that you are settled as you play together. We know each other better and I think we reflect this on the field.”
Turkish Football reported recently that Galatasaray are willing to offer £7 million to sign Lemina on a full-time basis, a sum that would see Southampton make a substantial loss on a man who initially looked a bargain at £16 million.
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