West Ham United reportedly want to raid Premier League outfit Southampton for Mario Lemina should Pedro Obiang return to Serie A.
If Southampton want to make any more renovations to a squad which narrowly survived in the Premier League last season, they will have to sell first.
That is according to Mark Hughes anyway.
“We will probably have to sell or allow players to go out of the club if we’re likely to bring anybody in now I would think,” the Saints boss told the Daily Echo this week.
And Hughes’ comments should not go unnoticed by West Ham United with Mario Lemina once again the subject of speculation over his future.
Sky Sports claims that West Ham are in talks to sell Pedro Obiang back to Sampdoria for £8.9 million and want Southampton’s £18 million Gabon international to replace him at the London Stadium.
Now, Southampton’s bosses have made it clear that they want to move away from their ‘selling club’ image. But with Hughes wanting new signings, including Filip Kostic as a replacement for Dusan Tadic (The Mirror, 24 July, page 49), it will be interesting to see whether the South Coast club are willing to listen to offers from West Ham.
After an impressive debut season in England, Southampton could surely guarantee that they would make a substantial profit on a player they paid Juventus £18 million for a year ago.
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