New Wolves manager Vitor Pereira has left Mario Lemina out to dry in a stunning rant about his captain.
The Portuguese coach laid into the midfielder, who was a surprise absentee for his side’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle.
GettyWolves’ captain wasn’t even on the bench for the defeat on Wednesday night[/caption]
Almost a guaranteed starter for Wolves, the Gabon international’s name wasn’t on the teamsheet pre-match, and Pereira waited until after the game to reveal all.
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 know what happened before me, but with this energy and this mentality, I don’t need him. I prefer to play with another player.”
Pereira went on to add: “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.”
Only four Wolves players have made more Premier League appearances than Lemina’s 17 this season.
Lemina was club captain under Gary O’Neil and one of the Midlands side’s most important players only a matter of weeks ago.
talkSPORT understands the 31-year-old is keen on a move to Pereira’s former club Al Shabab, however, an official bid is yet to come in from the Saudi club.
It’s understood Wolves want £5million for the player whose contract expires in the summer, although there is an option to trigger his deal by a further year.
A former Southampton player, he joined Wolves from Nice in 2023 and has recorded six goals in 77 games.
Without Lemina, Wolves slumped to another defeat, with a brace by Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon’s strike seeing the visitors leave the North East empty-handed.
The 3-0 scoreline moving them below Ipswich on goal difference and into the relegation zone.
Pereira’s time at Molineux began impressively with back-to-back wins over Leicester and Manchester United with five goals scored and none conceded.
Yet it’s been the reverse in his past two in the league, losing 3-0 to Nottingham Forest before today’s hammer blow.
Pereira has already had one reinforcement this window, with Emmanuel Agbadou arriving from Stade Reims and being thrown right into first team action.