Mateus Mané: the journey so far for Wolves sensation after choosing Portugal over England | OneFootball

Mané has been a Wolve revelation [Getty Images]

When Mateus Mané became the youngest Premier League goalscorer in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ history in January, his manager Rob Edwards was quick to insist the Portugal-born forward was more than just another goalscoring prodigy. “He’s 18, but he’s almost like a little bit of a leader there as well, because he’s rubbing off on people with his energy, his enthusiasm. I think it’s infectious.”

Edwards’ words were measured, deliberate and in-keeping with the impact Mané had made on Wolves’ desperate season after being given his chance at the midway point. Having recently opted to join up with Portugal’s U21 ranks and potentially commit his future to the Seleção, Mane’s story is one which is laced with excitement and promise from a Portuguese perspective.

Setúbal foundation

It begins in his birthplace Barreiro, a city in the district of Setúbal which has a strong reputation for producing footballers. João Moutinho was born in the city; João Cancelo was raised there, as were current managers Nuno Espírito Santo and Paulo Fonseca, as well as eminent players from the past such as Manuel Vasques, José Augusto and Fernando Chalana. The talent extends to basketball, with Neemias Queta of the Boston Celtics, who was the first-ever Portuguese to be drafted in the NBA, another local hero.

“It was a really good place to grow up,” Mané, who is of Bissau-Guinean descent, told Sky Sports earlier this year when reminiscing about his early steps with local team Barreirense. “Life growing up in Portugal was amazing, going out every day playing football, enjoying myself. I was a bit cheeky, I was hard work for my parents. But as a young kid you can be cheeky.

“I enjoyed being outside playing football, going out with my mates and my family, going to church on Sundays. It was always good there.

“I started getting into football more as my older brother was into it. I enjoyed going out to join him and his mates for a game. I used to get bullied on the ball, but I really enjoyed those games.”

Manchester move

Mané’s use of the term “mates” is indicative of where most of his formative years ultimately took place. The family moved to England when he was eight, settling in the Moston area of Manchester in 2016, by which time football was already a strong focus for the youngster, who adapted quickly in his new surroundings.

“My mum actually moved to Manchester first,” he recalls. “She moved to work and said there was a better life for us, more opportunities for football and stuff. So, we moved the entire family. I didn’t speak any English at all. But people helped me a lot to learn and communicate.”

Before long, Mané found himself spending a brief period at Manchester City’s development centre, after which he was signed by local 5th-tier outfit Rochdale. Aged 15, Mané’s ascent within the club’s ranks was rapid, playing a few games for the under-15s, before switching to U18s and quickly finding himself on the bench for a National League match for the seniors.

“I saw him from my first day, really,” Rochdale academy coach Lee Thorpe told The Athletic. “He was always a natural footballer, technically gifted. He could always perform in the higher age groups, even though he was quite slight and underdeveloped. With his technical ability and speed, it didn’t really matter. Also his self-belief was what stood out; his desire. It was a little different to other players.

“One game that stood out was when he was 15 playing in an under-19 game against a good Bolton team and he was the best player on the pitch. Even the opposition coaching staff were asking who he was. There was a guy from the FA asking me, too. He was 15 playing against lads 3-4  years older, everybody could see the way that he was demanding to take the game by the scruff of the neck at an early age.”

Pereira’s Wolves swoop in

Rochdale’s finances were struggling to cope with their relegation from the Football League in 2023 and as such their academy was downgraded in status, leading their best young players to leave for reduced fees. Mané’s name was inevitably circulated and despite a trial at Southampton, it was Wolves who acted quickest to finalise terms for a move to the Midlands.

Key to the deal was Rochdale academy manager Tony Ellis, who had also departed to join Wolves’ recruitment team. Ellis pushed hard for his new employers to add the 16-year-old to the academy ranks at Molineux and his advice was adhered to after Mané attended one training session and trial match, after which the rest of the recruitment staff agreed to push the deal through.

Intriguingly, Mané’s obvious natural ability with the ball was not the attribute which most attracted those at Molineux to invest him. According to a report in the Athletic, staff “were struck by his blend of manners and drive, which meant he immediately began demanding extra effort from other players on and off the ball” – comments later echoed by Wolves boss Edwards relating to Mané’s leadership.

Once again, Mané’s impact in new surroundings was instance. During his first match for Wolves U16s he scored two in the first half against Nottingham Forest, an impression so striking that by the start of the second half he had already been moved to another nearby pitch to play for the U18s. Before long, the buzz around Mané saw many conclude he was the brightest prospect in the Wolves academy since Morgan Gibbs-White, now of Nottingham Forest and England.

High standards

As the teenager acclimatised to life at a top-flight club which he says welcomed him “as if I’d been there for years” as well as life away from home, having moved from Morton to Wolverhampton, it was Mané’s attitude which again impressed those in the Wolves ranks.

One story reported in the Athletic recalled the staff, led by under-18s head coach Richard Walker, criticising Mané for a rare lack of attitude during a game, to which the youngster responded by seeking out Walker the following Monday to apologise and acknowledge the criticism. According to the report, the staff “never saw a similar drop in standards again, and believe the sight of their best player taking responsibility for a lapse also had a positive impact on the rest of the team”.

One year to the day after his arrival at Wolves, Mané was named by Vítor Pereira in a Premier League matchday squad against Fulham. Pereira and his staff had been made aware of Mané’s status within the academy and after a meeting between the Portuguese staff and the youngster, it was agreed that further first-team involvement would be issued to stave off potential interest from bigger clubs.

His senior debut came a few months later at the age of 17, introduced from the bench by Pereira in a 2-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget, coming on for my debut,” he reflects. “When the coach said ‘Mané, you’re coming on’ I was buzzing, I got up, jumped off my seat ready to come on. When I came on my nerves started coming up but when I won my first header, my nerves went and I thought I deserve to be here. This is what I’ve dreamed of my whole life.”

By the start of the following season, the club were acutely aware of the promise on their hands and Mané was tied to a fresh contract after his 18th birthday in September 2025. However, appearances under Pereira during Wolves’ dismal start to the 2025-26 were not forthcoming, despite the former Porto boss tipping the youngster to become “one of the best players not just at our club, but in this league” during a press conference.

Edwards appointment the catalyst

Pereira was fired in November with the team winless and rooted to the bottom of the table, replaced by ex-Wolves player Rob Edwards who was enticed from Middlesborough. With Edwards’ appointment came a change in Mané’s involvement, as the new boss set about finding a spark as the team’s survival hopes were rendered almost non-existent by their woeful first half of the campaign.

Having been sidelined by Pereira, Mané made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in the 3-0 loss to Chelsea under the dual caretaker team of academy coaches James Collins and Richard Walker. When Edwards assumed control a few days later, Mané’s involvement was quickly accelerated from further sub appearances to a first senior start at Anfield against Liverpool.

“He’s got a really high ceiling,” Edwards said. “When I first arrived, I didn’t know much about him. But after the first training session, I knew a little bit more [laughs]. Sometimes players get opportunities through other players being injured. But with him, it was earnt. When we brought him on in games, there was no fear, just this ‘I should be here’ attitude.”

Mané kept his place for the following match against Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United at Old Trafford, yielding a 1-1 draw which contributed significantly to Amorim’s departure from the Red Devils a few weeks later. Mané, on the other hand, had been entrusted by Edwards to start away from home against the country’s two most successful clubs.

By the time of Wolves’ next match, at home against West Ham, the youngster was raring to go. Selected again from the start, Mané scored the third goal as Wolves secured their first league victory of the season on the 24th matchday via a 3-0 win, with Mané becoming Wolves’ youngster ever Premier League goalscorer at the age of 18 years and 109 days.

More was to follow four days later, as Mané scored the equaliser in a 1-1 draw away at Everton. Following the match, BBC pundit Alan Shearer remarked: “It’s no coincidence that Wolves have certainly improved in the last three games and it’s the three games that Mané has started. He just played with such confidence for someone so young. They’ve been far better since he’s been in the team. When you realise the pressure Wolves are under, he plays with such freedom. It’s great to watch.”

“One of the best days of my life”

Mané, who demonstrated his youthful sense of fearlessness and confidence by cheekily attempting to pull rank and take a penalty he earned with a driving run against West Ham, before smiling and relinquishing duties to senior forward Hwang Hee-Chan, later admitted he felt at home under the pressure of trying to help salvage some pride from Wolves’ season.

“I’ll always remember the game against West Ham,” he says. “Probably one of the best days of my life. This game, I feel like I was more nervous than I was [at Anfield] for my first start. At Molineux, the home fans. But again, when the game started the nerves went away and my mind cleared. When I got the first turn, it was an amazing feeling.

“I always remember the goal, I watch the video sometimes. When the ball went into the back of the net I couldn’t believe it. The goal [against Everton] when I ran off celebrating, I was lost for words. Everything just came back in my head from when I was younger. Scoring my second goal in the Prem, it was an amazing feeling.”

Neymar influence; star comparisons

Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of Mané’s impact in the Wolves side is that it has occurred with him playing as an attacking midfielder. During his academy progress, Mané had been developed more as a forward, but Edwards insists his wide range of natural gifts are rare, regardless of his position.

“His technical quality is really, really good in tight spaces,” Edwards said at a press conference last month. “The way he manoeuvres the ball, some of the positions that he finds and the way he receives the ball on the back foot and turns just in one motion — it’s not easy to do, and that’s not that normal. He has a sort of 360-degree view, so he’s got awareness of what’s around him.”

Honing his skills is something Mané admits had been partly due to homework, confessing he “always looked up to Neymar” and studied the Brazilian on YouTube aiming to replicate some aspects of his play. Wolves recruitment staff member Ellis has likened him to Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze, while current academy coach Walker has his own comparison.

“I see a Luis Suarez (of Uruguay) aspect to Mateus,” Walker says. “There’s a street footballer in there, there’s a cage footballer in there. When he receives the ball, he looks to get half a yard and face up his opponent. I think there’s that real drive to win.

“It’s quite clear that he’s almost developed his own technical skills. Whether that be off YouTube, whether that be watching top players – he’s developed those technical attributes. The main thing about him is the rawness and the street footballer to attack his opponents every time he gets it. He’s got an enthusiasm and an infectious hunger for the game that I think is probably unrivalled in the young players I’ve worked with.”

A calm and confident speaker, Mané is clearly ready to take on the job of driving an improving Wolves team further. The extent of his willingness to shoulder responsibility is evident in the way he already discusses his role not only as a talisman in the attacking phases, but in the type of early leadership mentioned by Edwards previously.

Mané told Sky Sports earlier this year: “As a youngster coming into a team with a lot of senior and experienced players, it’s hard. But I feel that if you earn your respect then you can kind of lift them. Tell them to keep going and not give up and stuff. I feel that’s worked out now and some of them listen to me now when I tell them ‘keep going, we got this…keep our heads up..”

Surprise Portugal switch

Fans of a Portuguese persuasion could be forgiven for not following their countryman’s rise over recent months. When the associations from Portugal and England vied for his international allegiances in October 2024, the latter proved successful and Mané joined the under-18s of the Three Lions, earning 8 caps – one of which came against Portugal - across subsequent matches. At that point, it appeared Mané, with his distinct Mancunian accent, was committed to the country in which he has spent most of his life.

However, there were always indications that his international future was not quite as clearcut as it seemed, with Mané evasive in subsequent interviews over the topic of his senior plans. Mané’s ties to his homeland remain strong despite a decade in Britain: he is in regular contact with many friends made at Barreirense, including his best friend – also named Mateus – with whom he speaks daily, while Portuguese remains the much-preferred language of his older brother Marcos.

His debut for Luís Freire’s under-21s against Azerbaijan last week appears to have sealed his future, meaning another exciting prospect for Portuguese fans to follow across upcoming weeks. If those who have worked with him are to be believed, Portugal have secured the services of a youngster with both the technical and mental attributes needed for the top.

“This has been a difficult place to play and he’s not showing that,” Edwards recently said. “So, I think he’s got sort of a big-game mentality as well.”

And as for ambition, Mané is unsurprisingly aspirational.

“I want to one day win the Ballon d’Or, or win the World Cup…”