Mario Lemina will move to the club who offers him the most lucrative financial package this summer, 90min understands, leaving Manchester United ahead of Arsenal in pursuit of the midfielder.
United were reported on Tuesday to have been granted permission by Southampton to speak to the Gabonese international, though the Gunners are interested in him too because of the £18m to £20m fee he's likely to be sold for - a relative bargain in the current market. Lemina currently earns £65,000-a-week at Southampton.
His preference to find the best deal for him is going to give United the advantage over Arsenal in their pursuit because of the financial restrictions the Gunners have placed on themselves this summer - they are operating with a budget of just £45m and have a number of high earners they will need to offload first in order to compete.