Wolves have been stung after a report claimed that one of their key players is looking to leave for a new club this summer.
O’Neil outlines Wolves’ summer plans
Gary O’Neil has already confirmed that there will be changes happening at the club ahead of the new Premier League season, but that sales will have to power it.
“I don’t think there will be money available to us if nobody leaves so, if we decided not to sell a big player, then there is maybe some little bits or pieces we can do,” he explained.
“There are some players out on loan that have value as well that we might be able to do some bits with. The club is expected in the foreseeable future to be able to fund itself, so we need to be able to work with what we have, whether we can move things out and improve it by bringing things in”.
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But he will be keen not to lose his key assets for pennies, something that has now been touted.
Mario Lemina keen to leave Wolves for Europe
Now, a fresh report has surfaced concerning the future of midfield general Mario Lemina, who played a key role in Wolves’ success last season.
Lemina is into the final 12 months of his £45,000 per week deal at Molineux, and there have been no discussions over a new deal yet despite making 35 Premier League appearances for the Old Gold last season.
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Lemina’s impressive campaign |
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Appearances |
35 |
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Goals and assists |
5 |
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Tackles and interceptions per 90 |
3.97 |
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Key passes |
0.61 |
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Pass accuracy |
85.8% |
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Yellow Cards |
10 |
BBC pundit Danny Murphy was full of praise for both Lemina and Joao Gomes as they helped their side beat Tottenham back in February, dubbing the pair “outstanding”.
“They work well together defensively, they get back in and fill holes and with the ball they’ve got belief and great technical ability. They know Tottenham like to play out, they were brave and tried to win it back. As soon as they won it back they got the transitions with the pace of Neto and Hwang [Hee-Chan] up front.
“The defensive work in central midfield is something that goes unnoticed sometimes, but you can’t win matches in the Premier League unless your midfielders do the hard yards and the dirty bits and they did it brilliantly. The pair of them, outstanding.”
It is a partnership that Wolves may well be keen to keep heading into the new season but risk losing if the latest reports are anything to go by. That is because former side Galatasaray are ready to take him back to Turkey, according to A Spor, relayed by Sport Witness who add that Lemina has said yes to a move to the Turkish champions.
To do that, they are ready to table an offer of around €4m (£3.4m) for the 30-year-old, with the Gabon midfielder keen to make a return in order to play Champions League football once more, something that he tasted during his last spell with Galatasaray.
However, that is unlikely to be enough to tempt Wolves into selling their midfield maestro, despite their financial fair play concerns, with the club likely to find it difficult to replace his quality for such a measly sum ahead of the new season. Unless Lemina forces a move, he may well still be walking out at Molineux for their first game of the season.