Tuesday 8 August 2017 21:08, UK
Southampton have completed the signing of midfielder Mario Lemina from Juventus on a five-year contract for a club record fee.
Sky Sports News understands Saints will pay an initial £16m for the 23-year-old, with the deal potentially rising to £20m.
The Gabon international completed a medical with the south-coast club on Monday and adds depth to new manager Mauricio Pellegrino's side.
"I am really happy to have signed for Southampton," Lemina said. "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."
Southampton's vice-chairman 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.
Amid continued speculation over the future of their defender Virgil van Dijk, who handed in a transfer request on Monday, Reed added: "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."
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.
