Southampton are on the brink of making their first major signing of the summer after agreeing a €20m (£18m) deal for Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina, reports ESPN, via Football Italia.
The Premier League outfit have spent most of their summer batting away interest in captain Virgil van Dijk and have so far only managed to sign 21-year-old Jan Bednarek from Lech Poznan.
However, Mauricio Pellegrino’s side are now on the verge of making Lemina the second most expensive player in the club’s history after agreeing a fee for the Juventus outcast.
Lemina has spent the last two years with Juventus but only made his switch from Marseille permanent last summer, although he has failed to establish himself as a first-team regular in that time.
The Gabon international, who is in London for Juventus’ pre-season friendly with Tottenham, is now due to undergo his medical and agree personal terms with Southampton.
The 23-year-old was limited to just 19 appearances in Serie A last season, while only eight of those came as starts. However, only two team-mates had a pass accuracy in league action than Lemina (90%).
