Wolves boss Vitor Pereira reveals Mario Lemina desires to LEAVE after being omitted of defeat by Newcastle – after the midfielder was stripped of the captaincy following on-pitch scuffle with Jarrod Bowen final month

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira has revealed that former captain Mario Lemina wants to leave the club.

Lemina missed Wolves’ 3-0 defeat by Newcastle on Wednesday night as Pereira suffered just his second loss in six games since replacing Gary O’Neil.

After the match, Pereira explained why Lemina was not named in the matchday squad.

‘I can’t bring a player who tells me he is not in the mental condition to help the team,’ Pereira said. ‘He (Lemina) wants to leave.

‘I don’t know what happened before me, but with this energy and this mentality, I don’t need him.

‘He said to me that he wants to leave and he communicated this decision one month ago to the club.’

Mario Lemina was not named in Wolves’ squad to face Newcastle on Wednesday night

Vitor Pereira revealed afterwards that Lemina has told him he wants to leave the club

Lemina was stripped of the captaincy after an on-pitch scuffle with Jarrod Bowen last month

Pereira’s revelation suggests that Lemina has been considering his future for some time.

The 31-year-old had the captain’s armband at Molineux until last month, but was stripped of the honour after getting into an on-pitch scuffle with Jarrod Bowen following a 2-1 loss at West Ham.

Lemina subsequently apologised for his behaviour, but O’Neil opted to name Nelson Semedo as his new captain.

O’Neil was sacked just one week after the debacle at West Ham, but Lemina was not given the captaincy back upon the arrival of Pereira.

He could now leave the club in the final two weeks of the transfer window.

Wolves failed to cope without the experienced midfielder on Wednesday night as an Alexander Isak brace and an Anthony Gordon strike condemned them to a 3-0 loss that leaves the Midlands outfit inside the bottom three on goal difference.