Mario Lemina has been named as Wolves’ new captain following Max Kilman’s departure for West Ham United.
Lemina, who has spent the last season and a half at Molineux, will take the armband for the new Premier League season.
Head coach Gary O’Neil said: “Mario was a standout choice for me. We have some real good leaders in the group, and I’ll definitely lean on all of them throughout the season, but I think for Mario it’s really good timing for him.
“He has big respect from the players, around all the different groups, and drives standards.
“We had a little chat to check his thinking and he was really pleased and excited, and he’s done it really well since he’s taken over the last few weeks.
“I thought it would help him make the next step from being an established player to a leader, and the early signs have been really positive – he’s been excellent so far.”
Lemina, aged 30, has made 54 Premier League appearances since joining Wolves in January 2023 for £10million from Nice.
He previously made 46 appearances for Southampton and 28 for Fulham.
He has spoken since arriving at Molineux about his increased maturity after having his attitude questioned earlier in his career.
“He’s very good at portraying the messages that we want and what the group needs,” said O’Neil.
“I’m excited to see what we can do, what Mario can do, and how the players can perform this year with Mario as their captain.
“He’ll help us firstly as staff, he’ll take care of a lot of stuff within the group without it coming to us, and I think I can help him with his next step. Hopefully he can improve his performance levels again because he knows he’s hugely respected and he’s being looked at as a leader all the time. It’s really exciting and he’s made a really good start.”
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