Wolves reporter Nathan Judah has given his thoughts about Francisco Trincao and what the club are likely to do with him both this season and beyond.
This season has not been the smoothest for the 22-year-old, as having arrived on a season-long loan last summer, he hasn’t exactly been a regular member of the Wolves squad in 2021/22, only making 13 starts in all competitions and bagging just one goal in the process – which came in the EFL Cup back in August.
The club do reportedly have the option to make his loan deal permanent for a fee of £25m in the summer, but based on how poorly he has performed this season, he hasn’t exactly done a lot to demonstrate to the club that he is worth keeping hold of.
And whilst there are still a few months left in the season for him to turn it all around, speaking on the latest edition of the E&S Wolves podcast, Judah discussed Trincao and what the next months were going to look like for the Portuguese winger.
He ultimately claimed that he didn’t see him getting enough minutes between now and the end of the season to justify the club spending all that money on him.
He said: “It doesn’t look great for Trincao, does it? Because you’ve got [Pedro] Neto now, who came on ahead of him [against Leciester City]. You’ve got Hwang [Hee Chan] who’s fit now, you’ve got [Daniel] Podence – so if they’re playing two up front, obviously it’s going be Raul [Jimenez] and one other.
“If you’re playing three up front, for me, it’s going to be Raul, Podence, and one of Neto and Hwang, so for a guy in Trincao, who hasn’t done great this year – let’s be honest, he’s been disappointing – for a £25m offer to be on the table if they want to buy him, I can’t see between now and the season 12, 13 games, him getting a look-in.
“And so even if he plays maybe a handful of games, maybe one or two or three, is that gonna be enough to persuade the hierarchy that they want to spend that kind of money on Trincao? I’m not so sure.”
TIF Thoughts on Nathan Judah’s comments about Francisco Trincao and his future at Wolves…
Have you been impressed with Trincao so far this season?
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No
Judah’s comments, based on Trincao’s playing time and the success that Wolves have enjoyed this season largely without him, currently sitting 7th in the table, does lean towards the idea that he won’t come back some merit.
Because unless there is a serious injury to someone in the first team that is going to keep them out for a number of weeks, it is hard to see why Wolves boss Bruno Lage would want to change a formula that has been working so well for them up to this point in the season.
And without that chance in the team, he’s not going to get to show what he can do in the Premier League, which leads to the conclusion that Trincao’s time at the club could well be coming to an end. Because as Judah hints at, he hasn’t shown them £25m worth of talent during his time at Molineux.
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