Wolverhampton Wanderers journalist Liam Keen has given his thoughts on Francisco Trincao and his playing time moving forward at the club.
The Portuguese wide man hasn’t made the best of starts to his life at Wolves following his summer move on loan from Barcelona, only scoring one goal in his seven appearances so far in all competitions. His playing time has also been somewhat limited recently both through illness and tactical choices, and he hasn’t made an appearance in four of their last five games.
Speaking about the 21-year-old on the latest edition of the E&S Wolves podcast (36:13), Keen felt that he would make his way back into the side at some point in the near future, because even though Keen doesn’t appear to be the biggest fan of him, Wolves boss Bruno Lage certainly seems to be based on how he’s used him in the past:
“Trincao I think is probably the most likely to get an opportunity because I think Bruno really rates him. I think you can tell that by how he’s persisted with him in certain games, I think getting 90 minutes out of him at Newcastle when if we’re being honest, he wasn’t great.
“But he’s a strange one, he’s a little bit lightweight for me, Trincao. He makes too many, I wouldn’t necessarily say mistakes, but I think he holds on to the ball slightly too long. And he’s got a great left foot but he doesn’t seem to use it enough, doesn’t whip enough crosses in.
“He has a shot against Newcastle from 10 yards that he has to score, smashes the bar. He’s not quite doing enough for me at the moment and if I’m honest, I’m not sure he’s got a single attribute for me that really stands out.”
TIF Thoughts on Liam Keen’s comments on Francisco Trincao at Wolves
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Keen’s point are certainly backed up by the numbers, or lack thereof, when it comes to Trincao, and that Lage is still willing to trust him, as he did by playing him for the vast majority of their game against Newcastle United in the hope that he might come good sooner or later.
And it will be interesting to see just how long a leash Trincao has when it comes to Lage’s trust, because since he’s only a loan player, the club could quite easily send him back to Barcelona if they don’t feel he’s pulling his weight.
So you’d imagine that if he does get given a chance, as Keen hints that he will, he’ll have to start producing and hopefully quickly otherwise he could find himself on the bench permanently, or potentially out of the club altogether.
In other news: ‘As far as I’m aware’ – Journalist drops Renato Sanches transfer claim at Wolves