Unless you were without internet over the weekend, you would’ve seen the news that Southampton are on the verge of signing Mario Lemina.
The 23-year-old could complete his record signing to the Saints by mid-week, and will likely slot into the midfield next to the defensively-disciplined Oriol Romeu.
Even after Harrison Reed’s loan departure to Norwich City, Southampton are blessed with four centre-midfielders all capable of playing in the holding role of Mauricio Pellegrino’s 4-2-3-1. In short, someone needs to budge.
The beloved Steven Davis will without a doubt remain on as a club captain, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has featured quite regularly over pre-season. Unfortunately, that leaves Jordy Clasie. The Dutchman has struggled with injury and failed to make his mark in England, and he could be the one to potentially leave.
There’s no denial that Hojbjerg has a much higher ceiling than his Dutch teammate, meaning it could be Clasie who heads for the exit door as Lemina looks set to arrive.
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Around the time of the Claude Puel sacking, the 26-year-old was linked with a move to Italy, something which has cooled off in recent weeks.
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However interestingly the Saints have been linked with a Lazio player in Wesley Hoedt, sparking suggestion that some sort of trade could be arranged involving Clasie. The former Feyenoord man has struggled to hold down a first-team point and will turn 27 next summer, meaning he’s at a difficult crossroads in his career path.
A move to Germany or Italy could lead to a career revival for the man valued at around £10-12 million. With Lemina set to arrive in the coming days it becomes more and more of a realistic possibility for Clasie.
Lemina has three years on Clasie yet is already arguably the superior player with his experience at Marseille and Juventus, and it means that sadly it could be time for the latter to move on.
If the Saints can recoup a similar amount to money to what they did with Jay Rodriguez then it would considered a good bit of business by Les Reed. Despite his talent it wouldn’t be seen as a massive loss to the squad either.