Lemina: Ready to work for Pellegrino

Southampton’s club-record signing Mario Lemina is excited to get the chance to work with new manager Mauricio Pellegrino.

“I really want to work with him,” Lemina told the Official Southampton FC Website. “He got in touch with me, we spoke together about his project and he showed a lot of enthusiasm.”

Lemina completed his initial £15.4m transfer from Juventus to the Premier League club on Tuesday, with the fee potentially rising to £18.1m in add-ons.

The Gabonese international made 42 appearances for Serie A giants Juventus over two seasons after moving from Marseille in 2015. The 23-year-old, who began his career at Lorient, has represented his national team on nine occasions.

“I am really happy to be a part of his squad and to share his project with him,” Lemina added. “I think that I can bring to this squad, whether it be offensively or defensively, my power and ability to defend and get things moving forward.”

Lemina is a lively, mobile, box-to-box player who seems a much-needed addition to the laboured Southampton midfield of last season.

“The aims are the same as they were last season,” he began, “to finish high up the table whether that be sixth, seventh, or eighth and why not challenge for the Europa League.

“The club is very ambitious and we want to stay on this upward path.”