Wolves complete Trincao capture

Bruno Lage has made Portuguese winger Francisco Trincao his second signing as Wolves head coach.

The exciting 21-year-old joins on a season-long loan from La Liga giants Barcelona, subject to medical and work permit, with Wolves holding an option to make the move permanent in the future.

A full Portugal international, Trincao has played for his country alongside as many as six new Wolves team mates and will now experience the Premier League for the first time.

Despite having youth on his side, Trincao brings European experience to Molineux, having played Europa League football at Braga and appeared in the Champions League at the Nou Camp.

Read more: Talking Points | Trincao: From Camp Nou to Molineux

It was at Braga where Trincao was unearthed, enjoying a journey into the first-team alongside Wolves’ Pedro Neto and scoring or assisting 22 goals in his 48 games for the Liga Nos club.

One of those appearances, and his European debut, came at Molineux, as a second-half substitute in the Europa League in September 2019, during a stunning season which catapulted the Portuguese onto the world stage.

A move to Spain followed, and wielded more than 40 appearances and three goals, as well as a first senior international call up, with Trincao playing five times alongside the likes of Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho.

Technical director Scott Sellars said: “He’s a really exciting player. It’s an area we’d like more competition, in terms of wide players. I think the fans are going to enjoy watching him play, he drives with the ball well and has good creativity.

“We’ve watched him a lot, especially over the last couple of months, so he’s been on our radar for quite a while. He’s got loads of quality – signing for Barcelona from Braga shows what potential he’s got. He’s 21 and has played quite a lot of games in La Liga, so we think he’s ready for the Premier League.

“He’s a player who drifts past people and he has a great change of direction when he’s moving with the ball. He has great speed over two or three yards, to change direction and get away from people, can score and create, and is an exciting player.”

Having played nearly 150 senior matches, Trincao holds an impressive pedigree, and follows a familiar path of Portuguese players to Molineux, which has proved so successful in the past.

“He’s a player who has good experience, a good pedigree in terms of club and international games he’s had, so he’s certainly a player who is going to add quality to the squad.

“We have a large Portuguese contingent, and they look after each other well, but are also integrated in the whole group. They’re really hard-working, with a good mentality, so I’m sure he’ll integrate well and settle in quickly.

“With the manager’s Portuguese background, he knows him and speaks very highly of him, so he’s a player we’re very excited to be bringing to the club.”

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