Mario Lemina completed his loan move to Galatasaray before the European transfer window slammed shut on Monday night.
Twitter:
Mario Lemina, Galatasaray’da! https://t.co/csPALsdMFL (@GalatasaraySK)
The midfielder had been angling for a departure from Southampton throughout the summer, and at the last minute, was snapped up by the Turkish giants.
According to Simon Peach of Press Association, Galatasaray have parted with an initial loan fee worth €1 million. They do, however, have the option to make Lemina’s stay in the Super Lig permanent for €16 million.
Twitter: #SaintsFC are getting a €1million loan fee for Mario Lemina – and Galatasaray have the option to make the move perm… https://t.co/cxkB9hsVmz (@SimonPeach)
Southampton signed Lemina from Juventus in 2017 in a deal believed to have been worth £18 million, but are now willing to cut ties with the player.
Read Southampton’s verdict
It came as a big relief to simply get Lemina out of the door. He’s wanted his move to a top-six club in England for a while now and… oh, hang on. Never mind.
He’ll be playing his football in Turkey this season, and I’m really not sure that’s what he had in mind when he posted a sped-up highlight reel of clips from when he was bothered about turning up for Saints. Maybe this move will serve as a much-needed reality check for him.
Twitter: I KNOW WHAT I CAN REACH AND I WILL FIGHT FOR IT
#TonicLikeLeminade https://t.co/nZ2BwOv7bj (@LeminaM_13)
It seems unlikely that he’ll have a future at Southampton under Ralph Hasenhuttl, so it comes as no surprise to see that Saints are prepared to let him go for a fee marginally lower than what they paid Juventus in 2017.
€16 million for a player of Lemina’s age and quality in today’s market is rather a meagre sum. However, given his injury record, inconsistency and visible petulance throughout this whole debacle as the summer has progressed, it’s understandable that potential suitors are reluctant to spend big money on him straight away.
