According to a recent report by Sky Sports, West Ham United are in advanced talks with Sampdoria for the sale of Pedro Obiang. The report states that a fee of around £8.9million is being negotiated by the two clubs and once a figure is agreed upon, the Hammers would leave the decision to exit the London Stadium on Obiang.
Prior to signing for West Ham United in 2015, Obiang had spent seven years at Sampdoria and garnered 128 appearances. For the London based outfit, he has made 67 appearances and his current contract is due to run out in 2022. Apparently, Manuel Pellegrini may attempt to sign Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina as a replacement for Obiang if the latter eventually decides to make a move.
After his appointment as the new boss of the Irons, Pellegrini has been making galvanizing signings to beef up the quality of his arsenal. He has already lured Felipe Anderson, Issa Diop, Andriy Yarmolenko, Jack Wilshere, Lukasz Fabianski, Fabian Balbuena and Ryan Fredericks to his arsenal. Lemina would be an astute replacement for Obiang and many would say a certain upgrade.
Capable of operating as a central defensive midfielder, central midfielder as well as a central attacking midfielder, Lemina is a tough tackler and has the required vision to make his presence felt on the pitch. He is good at holding the ball and his ability to pass the ball meticulously enables him to knit his side together as a unit. Besides, he dribbles well and gallops forward time and again to exploit the space left by the opposing midfield and defence.
Having emerged through the youth ranks of Lorient, he represented their senior side and then had spells with Marseille and Juventus, before moving to Southampton last summer for a club-record fee of £18million. In 25 Premier League appearances for the Saints, he managed to bag 1 goal and 1 assist. Besides, the 24-year-old also garnered 2.2 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, 1.3 clearances and 0.2 blocks per game on an average.
He is an exceptional footballer with a notable technique. While he is in possession of the ball, he remains calm and composed and he certainly had an impressive debut season with Southampton. The career graph of the Gabon international has seen an upward trajectory as he has been considerably growing in stature every season.
It will be interesting to see whether the Chilean manager can lure him to the London Stadium. Either way, this has been a fantastic summer and the fans will hope a special season is on the horizon.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored