Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed that they have signed Nice midfielder Mario Lemina for an undisclosed fee.
Ever since his arrival at Molineux, head coach Julen Lopetegui has stressed that he wants to make a number of additions to his first-team squad.
Although Matheus Cunha joined from Atletico Madrid at the turn of the year, Wolves have not followed that deal with more acquisitions.
However, if speculation is to believed, that will soon change, and Lemina is expected to be one of a number of players to move to Molineux over the coming days.
With Lopetegui acknowledging that the Gabon international was on the brink of a transfer at a press conference on Friday, the 29-year-old was officially confirmed as a Wolves player on the evening.
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Lemina has Premier League experience with each of Southampton and Fulham, contributing three goals and three assists from his 74 appearances.
More recently, Lemina has accumulated 58 outings for Nice, 20 of which have come during the 2022-23 campaign, but he has now made the move to the West Midlands on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Speaking to the club's official website, Lopetegui said: "Mario is a good player. We know him, he wants to be here, and he knows the English league. I think that he has the profile to be a good player for us. That's why he's here and I wish him all the best.
"He has the profile to help us to improve and to be able to improve our performance in the next matches.
Our latest addition... ✍️
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 13, 2023
📸 @LeminaM_13#WelcomeLemina pic.twitter.com/fBg8tR265n
"He has to be a very complete player, with and without the ball. I think without the ball he's a very strong player, and he knows his job.
"With the ball, he has enough technically to play and to understand the play. Of course, we have never worked together, but now I'm going to know more about him and he has to know about us."
As it stands, it is unclear whether Lemina will come into contention for Saturday's Premier League fixture with West Ham United, his participation dependent on whether the transfer was finalised by midday on Friday.
If the deal did not go through in time, Lemina will not be available until the trip to Manchester City on January 22.
Darren Plant
