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Selling Saints player to a Premier League top-six side could be a mistake – opinion

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Mario Lemina could leave Southampton and join Manchester United, according to talkSPORT.

They claim Leicester and Arsenal have also shown an interest in the Gabon international but he would prefer to move to Old Trafford.

The Manchester outfit were after Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff, but have been put off by his £50million price-tag, according to The Daily Mail.

The report suggested United would now look to pursue other targets, which could and perhaps should lead them to Lemina.

The Saints midfielder said he is looking to leave St Mary’s, with the club’s blessing.

Lemina said: “Today, I am at Southampton, I still have another three years on my contract. But it is true that I do not rule out the possibility of seeing something else.

“The last four months have not been easy for me, with my injury. The coach put his team together. I want to start afresh. So why not leave?

“If I feel I do not like this project, I can leave. They are giving me the opportunity to be able to go elsewhere.

“We are working on it with my agents, we are not putting ourselves under any pressure. We are waiting truly for the best project, the best offer.”

If he was to join Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team, the numbers suggest he would improve the Norwegian’s midfield. When comparing his stats last season to the United midfield of Nemanja Matic, Fred, and Scott McTominay, Lemina comes out on top, according to WhosSored.com.

His shot-per-game was 1.2 whereas second-place Fred manages one-per-game, with the other two players scoring under that. He also performs better at dribbles-per-game, tackles-per-game and interceptions-per game, while he is joint top with Fred for assists.

In some of the other indicators, his stats see him in second place, including clearances-per-game and key passes-per-game.

With that in mind, perhaps it’s easy to see why Solskjaer sees Lemina as a player who would improve his midfield this season but, if that’s the case, surely he has the ability to improve Southampton’s as well?

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