Newcastle set to make cut-price move for Southampton’s £18m man & line up loan deal – Report

Newcastle are looking to sign Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina this summer, according to The Mail.

Simon Jones’ report also states that we are lining up a loan move for Arsenal centre-back William Saliba – although it seems Mikel Arteta may only allow the 6ft 4′ Frenchman to leave if he signs Brighton’s Ben White.

Back to Lemina, this isn’t the first time we’ve been linked with a move for the 27-year-old, with The Guardian revealing that we’d contacted the Gabon international over a potential £7m move to St James’ Park back in April.

He arrived at Southampton from Juventus in a deal worth £18m back in August 2017, but looks set to leave at a cut-price fee this summer now he’s entering the final 12 months of his contract at St Mary’s.

The explosive midfielder spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Fulham. He impressed in patches at Craven Cottage but wasn’t able to keep Scott Parker’s side in the Premier League – despite scoring what seemed like a crucial winner at Liverpool back in March.

As for Saliba, The Mail claim that he’s an option we are pursuing now Norwich City have edged ahead in the race to sign Celtic centre-back Kristoffer Ajer.

The 20-year-old completed a £27m move to Arsenal the summer Steve Bruce was appointed at St James’ Park and enjoyed an impressive loan at OGC Nice over the second half of last season.

Follow us on Twitter (@NUFCBlogcouk) and on Facebook HERE

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *