Although the move didn’t materialise initially, the midfielder feels he can relate to the club’s attitude and passion, which was evident on Saturday when he made his debut just one day after signing on the dotted line. That debut was a winning one too against West Ham United and now he’s finally at Molineux, playing under a manager he has huge respect for, Lemina is looking to hit the ground running.
On a whirlwind 24 hours
“I’m really happy with this win. We have been waiting for that and had it today. I had my debut, and it was tough, but we won and were really happy.
“It was a busy day. When I came to the training ground, they were already training, so I just came after and trained for five minutes. It was really quick. They’re good guys, they really welcomed me, and I’m really happy with them.”
On speaking with Lopetegui
“We’ve been talking for a few days. It was easy for me to come, I was really happy to talk with the manager before, and we did everything to make it happen.
“It was a positive conversation. He likes the type of player I am and I like the type of manager he is because he works hard and wants to play, and that’s what I like. We’ve got such a good group, a good team, and that’s why I wanted to be part of the group.”
Winning weekends 😍 pic.twitter.com/t72jDFW8td
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 15, 2023
On going straight into action
“Since I came, the first conversation we had was that I was going to play straight away. I said I was ready for that, I’m here for that, and if I had to come in, I would be ready, no problem.
“We had to do a lot of things, medical stuff, signing stuff, it was a really busy day. At the end, I’m really happy I’m here and we won the game.”
On past with Wolves
“Four years ago I was talking with them. I didn’t happen and I was really upset about it because I wanted to join. I love everything here, apart from the weather. Wolves – character, players with a lot of personality and that’s what I like. I’ve seen them play a lot of times with good strikers, good midfielders, good defenders, I just really like it. A club with ambition.”
On playing here before
“When I came with Southampton we lost against Wolves. It was a tough game, and I really liked the attitude of the players, and the crowd too, they really get behind the players. That’s what I like, why I wanted to be here, and now they’re on my side. We won the game, and they were really happy with that. We want to give them joy every game and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
On his hopes at Wolves
“Win all the games and try to be in the first part of the league and be happy. Be happy with the team, be happy with the fans, that’s what we want and after go to Europe, try to achieve something, but at the moment just win games, that’s it. “
On his message for the fans
“Thank you for the welcome. I hope I’m going to make them happy with this signing. I’m going to try to do my best every time, fight for the badge. They will see, I’m not going to lie, I’m never going to cheat, I’ll be the player I have to be.”
