Southampton in £18m swoop for Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina

Southampton have agreed an £18m fee with Juventus for Mario Lemina, with the Gabon midfielder expected to arrive for his medical in the next 48 hours.

Lemina, who was not included in the Juventus squad for their friendly against Tottenham at Wembley on Saturday, was also wanted by the Stoke manager, Mark Hughes, but has instead opted to link up with Mauricio Pellegrino’s side.

Watford also expressed an interest in the 23-year-old, who made just eight league starts last season.

Lemina, who joined the Italian champions from Marseille for £7.5m last year having spent a season on loan in Turin, was the subject of an offer from Leicester last summer.

He will become the second player to join Southampton since Pellegrino was named as Claude Puel’s successor, after Polish defender Jan Bednarek. The fee is set to include a further £2m in add-ons.