Former Wolves captain likely to depart club

The midfielder, who is currently sidelined with a calf injury, is the subject of interest from Al-Shabab and although no formal bid has been submitted, they are expected to act on their interest in signing Lemina during the January transfer window.

The former captain is open to the move and Wolves value him at around €6million, roughly £5million.

As a result of the interest, it is expected that Lemina will depart Wolves this month, two years after joining the club in a £9million switch from French club Nice.

Al-Shabab are not one of Saudi's state funded sides and will need to source the funds to purchase Lemina, but are likely to be able to offer significant wages for a player that is out of contract at Wolves in the summer - although the club do hold an option to extend that by a further year.

Lemina won player of the season last year and was handed the captaincy when Max Kilman departed, but struggled to maintain his form and was eventually stripped of the armband by former head coach Gary O'Neil after his outburst following the defeat to West Ham in December, in which he pushed team-mates and went head-to-head with first team coach Shaun Derry.

He is yet to feature under new boss Vitor Pereira due to his calf injury, but was expected to be down the pecking order due to the form of Joao Gomes and Andre.

The 31-year-old will not be available to play against Nottingham Forest on Monday and is expected to leave the club this month if a deal can be reached, with the injury not expected to scupper any move.

"I think not," Pereira said when asked if Lemina is available to play on Monday.

"Strep by step, the squad is short and I'm trying to find solutions.

"But I cannot risk a player because I need him for the next game. I don't like to push them.

"The player must come to me and say they are ready to help the team."