Julen Lopetegui took charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers after the World Cup break, more than a month after he was announced as Bruno Lage’s successor at Molineux.
Wolves were languishing towards the bottom of the table when the Spaniard took charge. He has now helped them sit far away from the relegation zone as they are currently 13th in the table, 10 points ahead of 18th placed Leicester City.
Lopetegui achieved this partly by bringing in new faces to Wolves in the winter market and one of the players they signed was Mario Lemina from OGC Nice. The midfielder has been vital in the Premier League side’s run this year.
Speaking to Foot Mercato, the 29-year-old has said his past spell in England helped him quickly settle in at Wolves.
“The club stays [in the Premier League] and we are very happy. We worked a lot for that. I wanted to play a series of matches to be the best possible and help the team. That’s what happened. This is a good thing.”
He also stressed the first half of the season at the Ligue 1 side helped him prepare for the transfer to Wolves in January.
“On a personal level, I was already ready since I had just performed with Nice over the past few months. I tried to stay on this continuity despite an injury just before the winter break. But I recovered well to go to Wolverhampton and help them,” Lemina explained.
The former Sevilla coach had earlier hailed Lemina as a “complete player” who knows “what he has to do with and without the ball.” Now that Wolves have assured their place in the Premier League next season, the player has made his and the club’s ambition clear.
“We are trying to create the best team for next season and to be competitive quickly in the season. It will be important. Now we have time. I hope to get away from injuries especially,” he concluded.
