Former Southampton and Fulham ace Mario Lemina is interested in a third spell in the Premier League with Wolves set to make a third bid for the Nice midfielder, according to the Daily Mail.
With Matheus Cunha arriving from Atletico Madrid in a potential £44 million club-record deal, Julen Lopetegui wasted no time adding some bite to his toothless frontline. But, as the former Sevilla coach himself admitted back in December, the attack was one of number of areas ripe for reinforcement at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Further additions are also needed at right-back and centre-half. Don’t rule out a left-back arriving too; Lopetegui expressing his admiration for Argentina international and World Cup winner Marcos Acuna.
An injury to summer signing Boubacar Traore, meanwhile, also has Wolves hot on the heels of a new midfielder. And the priority target appears to be a 29-year-old Champions League runner-up who’s previous Premier League adventures have been rather hit or miss.
Lemina struggled to live up to his £15 million price-tag at Southampton. He was far more effective during a loan spell with Fulham, scoring a famous winner away at Anfield in March 2021. If Wolves get the Fulham version rather than the Southampton one, Lemina would be a more than useful back-up to Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes.
Wolves want Mario Lemina back in the Premier League
Wolves, per the Mail, recently saw a second bid worth nearly £5 million turned down by Ligue 1 high-flyers Nice. Not to be deterred, another offer is now in the pipeline. Third time lucky, perhaps?
Lemina’s interest in securing another stab at Premier League football should give Wolves’ hopes a welcome leg up; personal terms expected to be something of a formality.
Lemina, once of Marseille and Juventus, missed out on a move to Newcastle after then-owner Mike Ashley refused to match Nice’s £5 million offer in the summer of 2021. How times have changed at St James’ Park. Most certainly for the better.
This is not the first time Lemina has found himself in Wolves’ sights either. The team from the Black Country tried to sign the ex-Galatasaray enforcer on loan during the summer of 2019. They failed to reach an agreement with Southampton at the time.
“He’s very good,” former Saints team-mate Oriol Romeu once said of Lemina. “A great signing. He’s a very strong player and helps the team a lot. He’s defensively strong and also can drive forward and create chances.
“It’s very good to have him. Mario was playing in Italy but I hadn’t seen him play before now. He’s a great player.”
Traore, it is believed, could miss up to two months with injury.
“It’s very bad news for us,” Lopetegui sighs. “We only have four midfielders now in the squad. We have to have more.”
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