Southampton have reportedly turned down an €8m (£6.7m) offer from Galatasaray for midfielder Mario Lemina.
According to Milliyet, the Turkish giants opened talks with the Saints over a permanent deal for Lemina and were hoping to sign him for €8m.
The report claims that Southampton are not interested in selling Lemina for €8m, after agreeing a €16m fee last summer with Galatasaray as part of his loan deal.
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If Galatasaray are not able to afford the €16m fee this summer, it could be a good idea for him to rejoin the Turkish side on loan for another season.
This could allow Southampton to get Lemina’s wages off the bill for another year, whilst giving Galatasaray more time to gather enough funds to afford Lemina on a permanent deal.
Southampton, as the report states, are clearly not happy with €8m and are not prepared to give Galatasaray a bargain deal.
The midfielder has impressed in Turkey this season and has recorded an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.29 in the Turkish league. This suggests that he has been performing to a high level and his price tag, we feel, should not be slashed from €16m to €8m, which could be why Southampton are unwilling to sell at that price.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Lemina in the summer and whether or not Galatasaray will be able to up their offer.
If they can come back with an improved offer, Southampton could decide to consider a permanent move – especially if they do not want Lemina back at St. Mary’s in the summer.
