Stoke City are set to offer around £12m to sign the Gabon midfielder Mario Lemina from Juventus as Mark Hughes steps up his recruitment drive before the new Premier League season.
Lemina, who joined the Italian champions from Marseille for £7.5m in April having spent the season on loan in Turin, was the subject of an offer from Leicester earlier in the transfer window before they opted to sign Nampalys Mendy instead.
But despite Glen Whelan signing a new one-year contract extension this week, Stoke’s manager, Mark Hughes, has been keen to strengthen his midfield and Lemina has emerged as their main target. The 22-year-old operates mainly as a defensive midfielder and made seven Serie A starts as Juventus retained the scudetto last season, with the Italians now keen to cash in having signed Miralem Pjanic from Roma earlier this summer.
Watford have also been linked with an approach for Lemina, although it is understood they are not interested. The newly promoted Bundesliga side RB Leipzig are also in the frame for a player who began his career at the French side Lorient.
Meanwhile Stoke’s prospective new signing Ramadan Sobhi has admitted he is determined to succeed in England. The club have agreed an initial fee of £2.5m with the Egyptian side Al Ahly for the 19-year-old forward and hope he may be given special dispensation for a work permit despite failing to meet the Football Association’s strict rules on players from outside the European Union.
“I will do all in my power to shine with Stoke, especially because my ambition has no limits,” he said. “I am setting goals for myself from the start, hoping to set a good image of an Egyptian player in Europe and, as I grow, become known around the world.
“This will not come through words but in action and a lot of practice.”
