Southampton completed their second major summer signing with the capture of Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina for a reported club transfer record fee of £16 million, with a further £2 million in add-ons.
Having put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the Saints, the 23-year-old cited the club’s new manager Mauricio Pellegrino as a key factor in his decision:
“I really want to work with him. He got in touch with me, we spoke together about his project, and he showed a lot of enthusiasm. I am really happy to be a part of his squad and to share his project with him. I think that I can bring to this squad, whether it be offensively or defensively, my power and ability to defend and get things moving forward.”
The History
Lemina joined French side Lorient at the age of 11 and progressed all the way to the first-team, with his professional debut arriving in January 2013.
He made 10 league appearances during the 2012/13 season before securing a €4 million move to Marseille in the summer of 2013.
The midfielder struggled during his first season with Marseille, making only 18 league appearances, before featuring more prominently in 2014/15, scoring two goals in 23 matches.
In the summer of 2015, Lemina joined Juventus, initially on a season-long loan. He made 10 league appearances, scoring twice, playing predominantly as a defensive midfielder.
The move was made permanent last summer, with the Italian giants paying €9.5 million for the Gabon international.
He again found first-team opportunities hard to come by, though, making 19 league appearances but just eight starts, which yielded one goal and an assist.
Capped by France at U20 and U21 levels, Lemina decided to represent the country of his birth, Gabon, at senior level.
Lemina scored on his debut against Tunisia in October 2015, one of eight appearances he has made for his country.
The Prospects
While Lemina is a versatile player, having featured as a winger, full-back, wing-back and even as part of a three-man defence, it’s likely that he’ll be used as a box-to-box midfielder by Southampton.
The new boy is a physical presence who can thrive in the middle of the park, and is a strong ball-winner – he completed 71% of his attempted tackles last season, bettering even Saints’ Oriol Romeu (67%).
Lemina also boasts good stamina and is able to break forward at pace with the ball at his feet.
He can keep things ticking over with both short and long passes and looks the ideal partner for the hard-working Romeu in Pellegrino’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
The Gabon international does have a reputation for being a bit of a hot head, though, with his limited pitch-time in recent seasons perhaps not accurately depicting his tendency to draw reaction from match officials.
Ultimately, five goals over the course of his career indicate that Lemina is unlikely to offer much of an attacking threat.
He did average a shot every 52.71 minutes last season, which was better than Steven Davis (85.29) – a player he may replace in the Pellegrino’s first-choice starting XI.
Lemina only managed to produce a key pass every 112 minutes, though, which was inferior to Davis (82.63).
For that reason, it would be a surprise if Lemina forces his way into our thinking when considering Southampton midfielders.
The club-record signing has been priced at 5.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and 8.5 in Sky Sports, with his arrival more significant from a defensive perspective if he and Romeu can form a solid shield in front of the back four.
Saints kept 14 clean sheets last term, while Pellegrino arrives in England with a reputation for being a defence-minded coach – his Alaves side only conceded 43 goals last season, a record only bettered by Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal in La Liga.
After claiming a shutout in the goalless draw with Swansea, Saints defenders are in demand due to their attractive opening fixtures (WHU hud WAT cpl), with their schedule very favourable all the way up to Gameweek 11.
Named as an unused sub in Gameweek 1, Lemina’s lofty transfer fee means that we can expect to see him on the teamsheet soon. While his power and ball-winning ability could profit their clean sheet count, he looks to offer little appeal for FPL managers eyeing up the Southampton midfield.
Instead, James Ward-Prowse (5.5) is only slightly more expensive and has set-piece duties in the locker, while Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic (both 6.5) may yet prove viable options in the mid-price bracket if they can find a cutting edge.
Based on Saturday’s showing – a sixth blank from their last seven top-flight matches – that still appears to be out of reach.
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