Mateus Mane is one of the brightest youngsters on the books at Wolves.
The teenager joined Wanderers in March 2024 from non-league side Rochdale.
And since his arrival, Mateus Mane has developed really well, playing for the U18s and the U21s, before actually making his first-team debut against Brighton at the end of last season.
Frustratingly, Mane has not yet featured for Wolves’ first-team this season, and hasn’t actually made any of Vitor Pereira’s squads yet.
This was despite the fact that Pereira said Mane would be with the first-team for 2025/26, and the manager even branded him ‘special’.
Meanwhile, Mane has been shining for the U21s, and already has nine goal involvements so far this term in 10 appearances, and some fans have championed Mane to not only start making first-team squads, but actually play.
Fans think Mane could be ready for Wolves, but journalist Liam Keen believes talk of involvement for the attacker is premature.
Liam Keen insists it could be a while before Mateus Mane gets minutes for Wolves
Many supporters had been hoping to see Mane kick on after making his debut against Brighton. Especially after that glowing verdict from Pereira.
But so far, the Wolves manager has resisted turning to the 18-year-old, despite his great form for the U21s.
There has been clamour for him to play, with Wolves obviously not starting the season very well.
People are urging Pereira to try something different. But journalist Liam Keen has warned that Mane may not play for the first-team for a while yet.
He said on the latest E&S podcast: “There’s been a little bit of clamour from fans for him to get a chance to play at the moment. But I really do think that’s premature.
“Look, he’s doing well for the U21s. He’s obviously a good talent and someone Vitor likes and the club think highly of.
“But this is a really young lad. He’s not long turned 18. The jump to get to the Premier League is huge. To suggest that he’s going to be the kind of generational talent, like a Wayne Rooney or a Bukayo Saka or someone like that who’s going to come through the academy and fire their way into the first-team as an 18-year-old. It’s so difficult to do that.
“I’m not saying he can’t do it. But I think the pressure from certain sections to suggest that Vitor has to play him now, and it’s a disgrace that he’s not playing him, I think is really, really premature. That’s not taking anything away from the young lad, because I think he’s a player who’s got promise and talent.”
Keen then pointed to previous young talents at Wolves like Tawanda Chirewa and Joe Hodge, who have been in similar positions to Mane but ultimately not made it at Molineux.”
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Mane must be patient as Wolves fight for points
The clamour for Mane has been understandable given how good he’s looked this season playing for the U21s, and the fact that the first-team have been struggling.
But Keen offers some good perspective here. Mane is still very young and inexperienced and it is possibly too early to expose him to first-team football too heavily.
Mane himself is ready to play for Wolves. But Pereira is obviously desperately trying to get points on the board at the moment for Wolves and it is perhaps just not the right time.
That said, if the forwards continue to struggle in front of goal, then the calls for Mane to play will only get louder.
For now though, he must keep doing what he’s doing – and be ready for his chance when it eventually does come.