Mario Lemina left Juventus for Southampton in 2017 when Mauricio Pellegrino was in charge at St Mary’s Stadium.
Pellegrino was shown the exit door in March 2018 and Mark Hughes was appointed as his successor, who was also sacked by the Saints later that year.
Ralph Hasenhüttl has been in charge of the English club since December 2018 and the 27-year-old has failed to make it into the Austrian’s plans at Southampton.
The situation forced him to spend the last two seasons on loan at Galatasaray and Fulham, and with a year left on his contract, he could leave the English club for good this summer.
That’s according to France Football journalist Thymoté Pinon, who took to Twitter to explain that Newcastle United have made a move for the midfielder.
Prêté ces deux dernières saisons à Fulham puis Galatasaray, Mario Lemina ne devrait pas s’éterniser à Southampton où il vient de reprendre l’entraînement. Newcastle a avancé ses pions mais c’est l’OGC Nice qui est en pole pour accueillir le joueur. @francefootball
— Thymoté Pinon (@ThymPinon) July 9, 2021
OGC Nice are also interested in the Gabon international and Pinon reports the Ligue 1 side are in ‘pole position’ to welcome the player.
Having represented Marseille and FC Lorient in the past, it’s claimed ‘hypothesis of returning to France seduced’ the player.
The journalist further adds Nice leaders have ‘made contact’ with Southampton and the two clubs are now ‘close to an agreement’ for Lemina’s transfer.
L’hypothèse d’un retour en France séduit le joueur. Les dirigeants des Aiglons sont, eux, entrés en contact avec leurs homologues britanniques et les deux parties sont proches d’un accord au sujet d’un transfert sec.
— Thymoté Pinon (@ThymPinon) July 9, 2021
