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SAINTS have broken their transfer record to sign Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina on a five year contract.
The fee for Lemina, which will be paid over three seasons, is believed to be £16m rising to around £18m, which eclipses the £16m paid for Sofiane Boufal last summer.
The Gabon international now links up with Mauricio Pellegrino’s side ahead of the Premier League opener at St Mary’s against Swansea on Saturday.
Lemina’s arrival means Boufal, who was bought for £16m last summer from Lille, is no longer the club’s most expensive signing.
The 23-year-old has previously been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham and Watford. He also held talks with Stoke.
But it’s Saints who have won the race for his signature having completed his medical and thrashed out terms of his contract today at Staplewood.
Lemina, who joined Juventus in 2015 from Marseille, is prominently a defensive central midfielder but can also operate at right back and potentially in a back three if required.
Juventus described him as a player who likes “defensive dirty work, tough tackles, timely interceptions and classy finishes”.
It comes after Saints captain and key defender Virgil van Dijk handed in a transfer request in a bid to force through a move away from St Mary’s.
He is Saints’ second summer signing after the arrival of centre-back Jan Bednarek from Lech Poznan for £5m.
Lemina started his career in France, with Lorient, before joining Marseille in 2013 and then moving to Juventus in 2015, initially on loan, before completing a permanent transfer last summer.
In his time with the Bianconeri, he won both the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia twice, and featured in last season’s Champions League final, against Real Madrid.
Vice chairman of football Les Reed said: “Mario is an outstanding talent who has already achieved a great deal in his career, winning a number of titles and gaining experience of playing on some of the biggest stages in world football.
“Investing in a player of Mario’s quality and buying from a club like Juventus is a significant statement of intent from the club, and this is a purchase that has set another club-record fee.
“Mario still has his best years ahead of him, and we believe that he will not only be an excellent acquisition for us in the immediate future, but that he will also be able to realise even more of his potential here in the years to come.
“In a volatile market with some extraordinary and inexplicable transfers taking place, we are determined to go about our work in a diligent and correct way. This is a player who has won trophies and played in the Champions League final less than three months ago and he has signed for Saints amid a host of suitors.
“Mario will complement what is already an extremely strong group of midfield players in our squad, and we are excited about what he will bring to the group.”
Commenting on his move, Mario Lemina said: “I am really happy to have signed for Southampton. I think that it was the project that attracted me the most and the one my family was really behind. I am really happy to be here.”
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