The future of Wolves star Mario Lemina has dominated the headlines throughout this transfer window.
Speculation over the 31-year-old’s future began when Al Shabab showed an interest in Lemina just a couple of weeks ago.
The Saudi Pro League side were said to be negotiating a move for the midfielder, whose contract expires in June, but no bid was submitted.
Lemina has since issued his desire to leave Wolves and even refused to play in their 3-0 defeat against Newcastle United, as supporters made their anger towards him known.
With no way back for the former Juventus man at Molineux, an exit must be sanctioned in the coming days and luckily, a fresh update has emerged on his Wolves future.
Latest Mario Lemina transfer news
Transfer links towards the experienced midfielder have cooled recently but on Tuesday, it was revealed that Torino now want to sign Lemina.
Lemina, who is valued at £5m by Wolves, is pushing for an exit from Wolverhampton and fresh interest in the Gabon international will be music to the ears of many.
Wolves fans have been unhappy with Lemina’s behaviour, especially after he refused to play in a crucial game, and that was the final nail in the coffin.
It’s a shame that such an experienced player has handled a situation so poorly, as instead of playing for the badge and acting professionally, he’s thrown his toys out of the pram.
Journalist Nathan Judah even compared Lemina to Matheus Nunes, the Portuguese midfielder who went on strike and didn’t train before sealing a move to Manchester City in 2023.
Some supporters perhaps couldn’t envision their former captain turning on the club as he was so instrumental to Gary O’Neil last term.
Lemina once embodied what it meant to play for Wolves, running himself into the ground, sacrificing himself for the team and putting his body on the line.
Now, he’s a complete shell of his former self and he’s made O’Neil look very silly with what he once said about him.
Gary O’Neil’s comments on Lemina have aged like milk
In the summer, O’Neil named Lemina as captain after Max Kilman jumped ship for West Ham.
Lemina was seen as the ideal replacement for Kilman having showcased captain-like attributes in the season before.
He was almost ever-present in the Premier League, missing just three games and earning the praise of his manager, who explained how ‘selfless’ he was.
Speaking in March 2024, O’Neil said via E&S: “He’s an incredibly selfless guy who will sacrifice himself. If I told him he’s going to play somewhere where he might only get a 4/10 in the paper tomorrow, but we’re going to win the game, he would definitely do that for us.
“Maybe in goal is the only place he’d get a 4/10, the rest he’s probably better than that!
“He would happily sacrifice his own performance and what people think of him, to help the team, which is what we need sometimes.”
Those comments made sense at the time but fast forward almost a year, and it’s become clear they’ve aged like milk.
Lemina was stripped of his captaincy after losing his head in the West Ham game and he’s now the opposite of ‘selfless’ given his recent actions, making his former manager regret what he said.