Nigeria striker Tolu Arokodare reportedly forced Wolverhampton Wanderers to cancel a training session after staging a protest over his proposed transfer to Fiorentina.
The 25-year-old is said to have refused to leave the training pitch on Monday, demanding that Wolves allow him to complete a move to the Serie A club despite the Premier League side rejecting Fiorentina’s offer.
Training session cut short
According to BBC Sport, the Super Eagles striker sat on the pitch and insisted the club approve his switch to Italy, prompting new Wolves manager Cesar Peixoto to end the training session.
The disruption comes after Wolves accepted a separate offer from Turkish side Trabzonspor, although the Nigerian forward is understood to prefer a move to Fiorentina.
As a result of the incident, Arokodare will not feature in Wolves’ pre-season friendly against Maidenhead United on Wednesday as the club continues preparations for the new Championship campaign.
Fresh challenge for Peixoto
The latest episode adds to a turbulent period for Arokodare since joining Wolves from Belgian side Genk for £24 million last summer.
The striker scored only three Premier League goals during his debut season as Wolves finished bottom of the table and suffered relegation to the Championship.
In April, he was also disciplined by the club following a confrontation with academy forward Mateus Mane.
The situation presents an early test for Peixoto, who took charge of Wolves last month after replacing Rob Edwards.
The Portuguese coach, formerly of Gil Vicente, has been tasked with leading Wolves back to the Premier League at the first attempt, but must now resolve uncertainty surrounding one of his senior forwards before the new season begins.
Neither Wolves nor Fiorentina have publicly commented on the reported training ground incident.