LOWDOWN | Can Trincão be Wolves' next sensation?

Any signing from Barcelona is likely to excite fans - and Wolves supporters will be looking forward to seeing 21-year-old Francisco Trincão in action this season on loan from the La Liga giants. 

To give us the lowdown on what to expect from the Portuguese winger, we spoke to our European football specialist Daniel Oliveira.

©Manuel Morais / Kapta +

PLAYMAKER (PM): 1. Prior to his high profile move to Barcelona, Trincão made his name in Portugal at Braga in 2019/20 - how impressive was he that season?

Daniel Oliveira (DO): You have to rewind back to the Under-19 Euro Championship in 2018 to trace Trincão's emergence as a top talent in Portugal.

The Portuguese youngsters won the tournament and Trincão was one of their stand-out performers scoring five goals in five games. From that point forward, Braga started to slowly introduce him into the first team during the 2018/19 season during which he started to impress.

The 2019/20 season was the one in which Trincão exploded. He had the audacity to face up any defender, showed electric pace, was a wonderful dribbler and showcased his lethal left foot. Unsurprisingly, he was immediately linked with the top three teams in Portugal (Benfica, FC Porto & Sporting) and a host of clubs in Europe.

2. Did his €31 million move to the Nou Camp come as a big surprise? There was talk about Jorge Mendes profiting considerably from the deal - do you think there was more to the transfer than meets the eye?

(DO): The price tag didn't surprise me, but the club he joined did!

When you think of Barcelona's normal purchases, you think of an end product and Trincão was far from it. At the time, it would have made more sense for him to move to a club like Wolves, Borussia Dortmund or Leipzig, teams that give young players the time to progress with less of a spotlight.

In my personal view, Barcelona saw the potential and took the risk. Not a big risk, if you consider he was a 20-year-old winger worth £26 million, who they could sell for at least the same fee further down the line.

Jorge Mendes undoubtedly has a lot of links with Braga, and was definitely involved in the transfer, but not to a point where he imposed Trincão on Barcelona. I genuinely think the Catalunians wanted Trincão.

3. Trincão featured 42 times across all competitions last season for Barcelona - did he enhance his reputation?

(DO): That's the thing. I don't think he was terrible at Barcelona, he showed some quality and flashes of the ability that caused Barcelona to gamble on him. I think he benefited from the experience of playing alongside Lionel Messi and now he needs more minutes in his legs to keep progressing, that's why he has moved to Wolves in my opinion. I think he could have settled for a place in Barcelona's squad, but with Memphis Depay arriving at the Nou Camp, a loan seems a smart move.

4. What type of player is he? What kind of player can Wolves fans expect? Is he the type of player Wanderers need?

(DO): In my view, Wolves have a really similar player in the squad in Pedro Neto. Trincão has real quality in tight spaces, and enjoys cutting inside (something Bruno Lage encourages his wingers to do). Despite their similarities, I think there is space for both Neto and Trincão in the same line-up and the pair in tandem should carry a real threat.

Wolves have got a quality player with a point to prove...Trincão will be really motivated to prove he can shine in the 'best league in the world'.

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5. Last season, Wolves spent big on another Portuguese starlet Fabio Silva who has yet to really find his feet at Molineux. Do you think Trincão can hit the ground running and make a name for himself in the Premier League?

(DO): The two are very different players! As I was saying last season, Fabio Silva was likely to take time to adapt in his first season - though I believe this season he will show more of his quality.

With Trincão, we're talking about a player who has already been capped for Portugal, who has played Champions League football for one of the biggest clubs in the world. He is entering a great environment, where there's a big Portuguese contingent, and I think he'll take what is a huge opportunity.