'Bid rejected' - Wolves make transfer decision on £17m signing after brutally honest comment

Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Vitor Pereira has made his feelings clear on the club’s former club captain Mario Lemina, as talk surrounding the 31-year-old’s future at Molineux continues to intensify.

The former Southampton man has been a near ever-present this term with 17 Premier League appearances, but now looks destined for the exit door after being publicly criticised for his attitude by his new manager.

Lemina failed to even make the match day squad during the Old Gold’s 3-0 away defeat to high-flying Newcastle United as in-form forward Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon dented the team’s survival hopes at St. James’ Park.

When quizzed about Lemina’s absence, Pereira waited until after the game until giving his honest verdict on the midfielder. He said: “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."

Will Mario Lemina leave Wolves in January?

£17m signing Mario Lemina, who won the fans Player of the Year award last season after joining in January 2023, was awarded the captaincy by Gary O’Neil in August after a hugely impressive first full term.

The Gabonese international was labelled by O’Neil the ‘standout choice’ and someone with ‘big respect from the player’ and with an incredible ability to drive standards. Lemina captained the side for the first five months of the season but was stripped of the main leadership position by Gary O’Neil for his conduct after last month’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham.

O’Neil said at the time: "We've decided to move the captaincy to Nelson and Nelson will captain the group from now on.

"Of course, the other night sparked the conversation, but it was an important conversation that had to be had. Mario and myself have a good understanding now of how we move forward and what it looks like.

"We've spoken a lot this week - me, Mario and some of the other senior players. What happened after the game can't happen. We all understand emotions can rise, that we're in a tough moment and everyone's fighting and giving everything under big stress and pressure. But they're scenes we won't see again, definitely."

After O’Neil’s exit, Pereira opted to retain Semedo as captain but still called upon Lemina to start in a number of his opening games. However, after Wednesday’s decision to drop Lemina and the subsequent rant it seems extremely unlikely that the 31-year-old will be able to work his way back into the team.

talkSPORT claims that Pereira's former club Al-Shabab have seen an offer rejected for the 31-year-old on a free transfer.

Wolves are understood to be demanding a figure of around £5m for the midfielder, whose contract is due to expire in the summer, despite there being a one-year extension clause in place.

The Old Gold are currently in the relegation zone on goal difference after their defeat in the North East while the situation could yet get worse if Ipswich Town are to pick up a positive result against Brighton. Meanwhile, bottom club Southampton, who also changed manager in December, take on Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Saints are currently on just six points and are 10 adrift of safety.