Mario Lemina has bid farewell to Nice’s players and staff ahead of his return to the Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to L’Equipe.
The squad Wolves end the window with could be very different from the one that limped rather depressingly into 2022. Matheus Cunha became the first signing of the Julen Lopetegui era in a potential £44 million club-record deal, and has made quite the impression with a series of eye-catching cameos.
Talks with Cunha’s former Atletico team-mate Felipe are also ongoing. Ditto with Bristol City starlet Alex Scott. Pablo Sarabia could also arrive from Paris Saint-Germain – a deal that would rival Cunha’s for ambition and beat it for shock factor (The Athletic).
Sarabia worked with Lopetegui at Real Madrid B, the Spanish national team and (briefly) at Sevilla.
Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves are close to signing Mario Lemina from Nice
But while negotiations with Sarabia, Scott and Felipe are underway, 29-year-old Gabon international Mario Lemina looks set to be January signing number two at Molineux.
According to L’Equipe, Lemina said goodbye to his Nice team-mates and the Allianz Riviera coaching staff on Thursday morning. He will now head to England, before undergoing medical tests and signing a four-and-a-half year deal at a Wolves side sitting second-from-bottom in the Premier League but just three points off 13th place Leicester City.
Lemina will set Wolves back around £10 million. The 2020 Europa League quarter-finalists had two lower bids rejected. But Nice will now take the opportunity to cash in on a 29-year-old who’s contract has around 18 months left to run.
Lemina should add a dash of Premier League experience to Lopetegui’s side. After stints at Juventus and Marseille, Lemina played for Southampton and Fulham; scoring a famous winner at Liverpool with the latter, even if his Craven Cottage spell ended in relegation.
“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.”
Wolves recently lost Boubacar Traore to injury. Lemina, a disciplined and hard-working midfielder, could replace him at Molineux.
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