West Ham United are reportedly in advanced talks to sell Obiang back to Serie A – and could then raid Premier League club Southampton for Mario Lemina.
It could be a case of one in one out for West Ham United.
Pedro Obiang has been linked with an exit for a number of weeks now and it does indeed seem that the 26-year-old might have played his last game for the club.
Sky Sports (live blog, 9.08am) is reporting that West Ham are in advanced talks with Serie A outfit Sampdoria, who are keen to land Obiang for a fee of around £8.9 million. It is understood that West Ham will let the Spanish midfielder decide whether or not he wants to leave once a fee has been agreed.
At the moment, though, all the signs are pointing towards a return to Sampdoria for a player who represented the Genoa-based club between 2010 and 2015.
Though West Ham are determined not to leave themselves short and do have a replacement in mind – Southampton’s Gabon international Mario Lemina.
Sky Sports claims that The Hammers have identified the former Marseille and Juventus man, who moved to St Mary’s for £18 million last summer, as a potential replacement for Obiang in the heart of their midfield.
This is not the first time West Ham have been linked with Lemina, who had an impressive debut season with Southampton, and one could argue that he would be an upgrade on Obiang.
