Early career Lemina was born in Gabon to a Gabonese father and French mother. He began his youth career in France aged 7 at local club ES Nanterre; he then went to study sports at Rueil-Malmaison, finishing at Colombes. Aged 15, he signed with the
Lorient youth academy;
Marseille in 2013 The following season,
Marseille acquired Lemina for €4 million, although he initially struggled to gain playing time in his first year with the club, making only eight league starts during the
2013–14 season. He began to be used more frequently by manager
Marcelo Bielsa during the
2014–15 season, making his breakthrough with the club, as he helped the team to a fourth-place finish, earning 23 appearances in the league.
Juventus During the summer of 2015, Lemina began to attract the attention of several clubs, including
Premier League clubs
Liverpool,
Southampton and
West Ham United. On 26 September 2015, he scored his first goal for Juventus in his third appearance, coming in the 63rd minute of a 2–1 away loss to
Napoli. On 29 April 2016, Lemina's loan was made permanent; he signed a four-year deal from Marseille for a fee of €9.5 million plus an extra €1 million if performance related targets are met. The deal was scheduled to keep him at Juventus until 2020. On 21 May, Lemina started in the
Coppa Italia Final, playing the full match as Juventus defeated
AC Milan 1–0 after extra time to capture the domestic double for the second consecutive season. In his second season, he won the domestic double with the club, and appeared as a substitute in the
Champions League final, where his team suffered a 4–1 defeat to
Real Madrid.
Southampton in 2018 On 8 August 2017, Lemina joined
Southampton on a five-year deal for a club record fee of £15.4m. He made his debut on 20 August, in a 3–2 victory over
West Ham United. His first goal for Southampton came in a 3–2 victory over fellow strugglers
West Bromwich Albion on 3 February.
Loan to Galatasaray In 2019–20 season, Lemina joined
Galatasaray on a loan deal.
Loan to Fulham On 30 August 2020, Lemina was loaned out to
Fulham with an option to buy. He made his debut for the club on 16 September 2020 in the second round of the
EFL Cup against
Ipswich Town, which Fulham won 1–0. On 7 March 2021, Lemina scored his first Fulham goal to seal a 1–0 away win over
Liverpool, handing them their sixth consecutive league defeat at
Anfield for the first time in the Reds' history. In doing so, Lemina also clinched Fulham's second win at Liverpool in the club's history.
Nice On 24 July 2021, Lemina joined
Nice for an undisclosed fee. Later that year, on 22 December, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win over
Lens.
Wolverhampton Wanderers On 13 January 2023, Lemina joined
Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal. He made his first appearance on 14 January 2023 as a substitute in a home Premier League game against
West Ham, a fixture which Wolves won 1–0. Lemina made his full Wolves debut on 22 January 2023 in a 3–0 loss at
Manchester City and then his full home debut on 4 February, helping the hosts to defeat
Liverpool, also by a 3–0 scoreline. On Lemina's fourth appearance for his new side on 11 February, he was sent off in the first-half of Wolves's Premier League game away to his former club, Southampton, for receiving two yellow cards. Wolves went on to win the game 2–1 despite playing for more than an hour with 10-men. Lemina was sent off for the second time in his Wolves career in a 1–1 draw with
Aston Villa at
Molineux in the Premier League on 8 October 2023, having again picked up two yellow cards in one game. Upon his return from suspension, Lemina scored his first goal for Wolves in a 2–2 home draw with
Newcastle United on 28 October 2023. He scored further goals in home wins against
Tottenham Hotspur and
Chelsea on 11 November and 24 December respectively, and then away to
Brentford on 27 December. Lemina scored his first-ever
FA Cup goal, the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 Fifth Round home win against
Brighton & Hove Albion on 28 February 2024. Following Wolves's match against
Crystal Palace on 11 May 2024, Lemina was named Supporters' Player of the Season. Ahead of the
2024–25 season, Lemina was named club captain. However, Lemina was stripped of the captaincy on 13 December 2024, following an incident in the previous match against
West Ham United. On 15 January 2025, it was revealed in a
press conference by manager
Vítor Pereira that Lemina wanted to leave the club.
Return to Galatasaray On 5 February 2025, Lemina rejoined Turkish side Galatasaray for a transfer fee of €2.5m. On 10 March 2026, he scored his first
Champions League goal in a 1–0 win over
Liverpool in the first leg of the
round of 16. ==International career==