Why Mario Lemina would be a good signing for Fulham
According to the Evening Standard, Fulham are interested in securing the services of Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina on a season-long loan deal.
The 26-year-old spent the previous campaign out on loan at Galatasaray alongside Fulham’s Jean Michael Seri. And the Saints are willing to cash in on their out-of-favour star permanently. (h/t Evening Standard)
As per the report, potential suitors for Lemina have been put off by Southampton’s £10m asking price for the midfielder. However, it is understood that any loan deal taking the Gabonese international to Craven Cottage would include an obligation to buy if Fulham manage to preserve their PL status.
Profile
Mario Lemina rose through the youth ranks of French club Lorient. He subsequently featured for Marseille in Ligue 1 before earning a move to Juventus back in the summer of 2015.
The 26-year-old played a bit-part role for the Italian giants, winning the domestic double in each of his two seasons with the Bianconeri before departing for Southampton in 2017.
Lemina featured 52 times for the Saints across all competitions over the course of the next two seasons before being loaned out to Galatasaray last summer. The Gabonese ace clocked up 28 appearances for the Turkish giants last term, establishing himself as a regular starter.
Do Fulham need him?
A mere glance at Fulham’s squad is enough to suggest that the Cottagers are pretty well stocked in the midfield department, despite last season’s loanee Harry Arter returning to Bournemouth.
The likes of Tom Cairney, Stefan Johansen, Kevin McDonald, and Harrison Reed were all a part of manager Scott Parker’s plans in the Championship last term. It has been reported that Fulham are in talks to sign Reed on a permanent deal from Southampton, although a final decision on that is yet to be made.
Fulham will also need to make a decision on the futures of Jean Micheal Seri and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, two big-money recruits from the summer of 2018 who spent the previous campaign out on loan elsewhere.
With that in mind, however, it’s imperative to say that the likes of McDonald, Johansen, Cairney, Seri and Anguissa all played in the 2018-19 PL campaign and just didn’t do enough to keep the Cottagers in the top-flight.
Hence, it might not be a bad idea for Parker to reshuffle his options in the middle of the park with some fresh faces. Mario Lemina already has a fair bit of PL and Champions League experience under his belt that should definitely appeal to any promoted club.
The 26-year-old hasn’t been a raging success at Southampton. But his performances have been promising enough to warrant him an escape route to prolong his stay in the Premier League.
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Verdict
Mario Lemina hasn’t quite delivered on his potential at Southampton. But he remains a quality box-to-box midfielder with decent experience at the highest level. Considering that he still has time to improve at 26, Fulham completing a loan deal for the Gabonese star this summer would well be a risk worth taking.
