Promotion hopefuls Southampton could lose Sekou Mara this winter, with Ligue 1 outfit Lille keen to secure his services over the coming weeks, according to reports in France.
The Frenchman moved to the St. Mary’s Stadium at the beginning of last season for a reported £9.5 million which was set to rise over time to £11 million. However, the youngster has managed to bag just three goals and three assists in 43 appearances so far since signing for the Saints.
This term, since Russell Martin took the reins at the recently relegated side, Mara has found the net just once in 13 games for Southampton, although the 21-year has seen just 256 minutes of action, including only 211 in the league.
Mara joined Southampton off the back of a six-goal campaign with Bordeaux in Ligue 1 as a teenager but hasn’t managed to find his feet with the club on the south coast and could be on the move this winter.
According to French outlet L’Equipe, Mara is a January transfer target for LOSC Lille. Under the guidance of the former AS Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, Les Dogues are sitting fifth in France’s top-flight, five points behind third-place Monaco in the race for the Champions League spots.
The report is claiming that Lille are hoping to bring a new frontman into the club, especially given the speculation surrounding Canada international Jonathan David’s future at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
It will be interesting to see whether the Saints let Mara leave over the coming weeks, particularly since £8 million summer signing Ross Stewart was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.
Writer’s View
Sekou Mara came to the Premier League eighteen months ago with a lot of promise and looked to be a wise acquisition by the club. However, for whatever reason, things just haven’t quite clicked for him in English football.
Nevertheless, given Stewart will not feature again for the rest of the season, letting him leave could be risky for Martin, particularly if an injury occurs to either Adam Armstrong or Che Adams.
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