Fabrizio Romano drops major update after Wolves 'approach' for £6.3m Man City target

Wolves will reportedly have to look elsewhere having seen an approach rejected for Real Betis midfielder Sergi Altimira.

The Old Gold are eager to strengthen in defensive midfield with Mario Lemina nearing the exit door but their latest attempt to do just that has drawn a blank. Altimira, a regular starter for Betis this season and a decent option off the bench last campaign, has been progressing superbly in La Liga but Wolves seemingly won’t be signing him.

Transfer news specialist Fabrizio Romano reports Altimira is now expected to stay at Betis as the Seville-based club don’t want to lose him this winter. It’s also been revealed that Wolves weren’t the only club interested as Manchester City have placed him on their shortlist for both present and future.

Altimira, predominantly an out-and-out central midfielder but also capable of playing a little deeper, has racked up 47 appearances and 2,777 competitive for Betis to date. Before that, the 23-year-old featured on 62 occasions for Spanish fourth-tier club CE Sabadell FC.

Wolves considering their options

Wanderers are weighing up a host of players shortlisted for the defensive midfield slot, not just Altimira. Another option Wolves have held talks for is Dynamo Kyiv’s Volodymyr Brazhko, a similar profile of player to Altimira but perhaps more readily available.

The eight-time Ukraine international has been a key figure for Kyiv throughout the past two seasons, while he enjoyed a successful loan at fellow Ukrainian top-tier club Zorya Lugansk during the 2022/23 season. Brazhko also boasts experience in the UEFA Europa League having made six starts in the competition this season.

Our sister publication, Express & Star, reported on Wednesday (January 29) that Brazkho had emerged as a key target. TalkSPORT have since added that Wolves are preparing a package offer worth up to €15 million for the 23-year-old.

Lemina’s Wolves days numbered

The reason the Old Gold even got into this kerfuffle in the first place was because of the rather public unprofessionalism from former captain Lemina. The Gabon international lost the armband during Gary O’Neil’s final days as head coach after losing his head at full time of the 2-1 defeat away at West Ham United.

Fast forward a few weeks with new head coach Vitor Pereira through the door and Lemina very quickly had a desire to leave Molineux. The actual idea of departing wouldn’t have been so harsh had he gone about it in a better manner, but Lemina decided not to turn up for Wolves’ 3-0 defeat away at Newcastle United.

When quizzed about Lemina’s absence from that game, Pereira told the BBC: “I cannot bring a player who comes to me and says he’s not in a condition mentally to help the team, ‘I want to leave’.

“I don’t know what happened before me, but with this energy and mentality, I don’t need him. I'd prefer to play another player. I don't have anything against Lemina or any issues with him. He said to me that he wants to leave and he communicated this decision one month ago to the club."