MARIO Lemina has attracted interest from abroad as Saints look to offload the midfielder.

Lemina’s spent this season on loan with Turkish side Galatasaray after coming to the realisation that he wasn’t part of manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans.

And the Daily Echo understands that the club have received enquiries relating to the Gabon international’s availability.

Reports in Turkey claim that Galatasaray would be interested in making his move permanent but are unable to pay the sort of money that Saints would be after.

Lemina’s quality on the ball is evident for all to see but he struggled to put in top-level performances week in, week out.

Speaking to Hurriyet, a Turkish newspaper, in May, Lemina revealed his desire to stay in Turkey and become a Galatasaray legend.

The former Juventus man said: “Playing for Galatasaray makes me very happy. Every day, I receive good messages from the fans. I love them. I’m enjoying playing for them.

“Do I want to stay? There’s no need to ask that question, everything is clear from my end.

“I want to be remembered as one of Galatasaray’s greatest players.

“Of course, I joined the club on a loan deal, but I hope it won’t continue like this.”

Despite saying this, the Saints loanee didn’t close the door on a potential return to Marseille, the team he played for before moving to Juventus.

The French side are led by ex-Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas and finished second in this season’s Ligue 1 competition.

In a recent interview with Europe 1, Lemina said: "Yes, of course a possible return to Marseille interests me, even without the recovery project. Marseille remains a club in my heart.

"If there is such a beautiful project, it is even more tempting."

Lemina's made 49 appearances for the St Mary's side, scoring just once from midfield, following his £15.5million move in 2017.