Former Southampton vice-chairman Les Reed believes that Mario Lemina could still become world class, amid links with Newcastle United and West Ham United.
The Gabonese midfielder is still contracted to Southampton, although he hasn’t appeared for the St Mary’s outfit in the previous two seasons having spent time out on loan.
Lemina was in Turkey with Galatasaray 12 months ago, before spending this season at Fulham.
His only Fulham goal came at Anfield back in March, although that 1-0 victory was unable to save the Cottagers from relegation.
Lemina is unlikely to return to west London next season, but the midfielder could yet stay in the Premier League, with both Newcastle and West Ham interested in signing the former Juventus man who could be available for £7m.
That’s because he’s reportedly not part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans for next season, which shouldn’t come as a great surprise considering Lemina only played a handful of times under the Austrian two years ago before the Saints boss opted to loan him out.
Despite his testing period with Southampton, Reed, who was involved in the deal which saw Lemina move to the Premier League, has exclusively told Football FanCast that he could still become a top player in the right circumstances:
The former England technical director said: "Mario Lemina could be world class, he’s a superb athlete. When he first got in the team at Southampton, everyone thought we got the best deal out of Lemina and Pogba from that Juventus midfield."