West Ham United have reportedly been linked with a move for Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina.
After a difficult season which saw West Ham spend much of the campaign battling towards the bottom of the Premier League table, it is little surprise that the Hammers appear to have wasted little time identifying some targets for the summer transfer window.
The Irons may have finished 13th in the table and gone into the final couple of games safe in the knowledge that they were not going to go down, but the club’s hierarchy must not get carried away with the nine point gap that separated them from the bottom three by the time the campaign concluded.
After a season where the disconnect between the fans and owners appeared to reach new levels at times, there is surely a significant amount of pressure on the board to spend a decent amount of money on marquee signings who do not appear to be particularly risky additions.
Given that fact therefore, Foot Mercato’s suggestion earlier this week that West Ham want Mario Lemina from Southampton may not go down particularly well amongst the Irons fans.
On his day, Lemina – who earns £65,000-a-week, according to Spotrac – appears to be a special talent, capable of winning almost any midfield battle that may face him in the Premier League. Unfortunately however, the 24-year-old’s form has not always been the most reliable and the Southampton supporters have had concerns about his attitude at times.
It may therefore, be deemed to be the kind of gamble that Hammers fans would rather not see the club take, but it could be argued that if their manager is capable of getting the best out of Lemina on a regular basis in future, signing the former Juventus man could prove to be an absolute masterstroke.
West Ham fans know all too well how a certain manager can appear to make all the difference for a struggling player. Marko Arnautovic went from looking like one of the worst signing’s in the club’s history to the player that arguably played the greatest role in keeping the side in the top flight, and David Moyes’ appointment seemed to be the catalyst for the change.
If the Irons have the right manager at the helm next year, signing Lemina has the potential to be one of the best pieces of business the club has done for a long time. But it is certainly a gamble.
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