An official from a leading Premier League team, captivated by a young talent amidst a struggling squad, decided to take a gamble.

As Wolves teetered on the brink of relegation to the Championship with plans to revamp, the thought of acquiring Mateus Mane before his value skyrocketed seemed like a strategic move.

However, a simple call to the Molineux executives dashed those hopes. Wolves had no intention of letting Mane go mid-season unless an offer akin to those for stars like Lamine Yamal or Kylian Mbappe was on the table. In essence, they were not budging.

But this stance won’t deter interest when summer rolls around. Last season, Everton’s willingness to shell out up to £42 million for Tyler Dibling, who had two goals and an assist in 33 Premier League outings for Southampton, is indicative of the market’s potential.

In contrast, Mane boasts two goals and two assists in significantly less playing time, setting the stage for intense discussions when Wolves’ technical director Matt Jackson fields calls from top clubs across England and Europe after the season.

Wolves’ Mateus Mane celebrates scoring his team’s third goal in the demolition of West Ham earlier this month

Wolves have no intention of selling Mane in January but know clubs will come calling in the summer

In today’s meticulously curated Premier League environment, Mane’s unrefined authenticity is striking. He confidently demands the ball from seasoned teammates and isn’t shy to express frustration when it’s not delivered. During pre-match rondos, his candid laughter at teammates for poor ball control or misplaced passes reveals his bold character.

Before a recent television interview, he strolled up to the reporter and producer alone and introduced himself, rather than waiting to be escorted there by a club official – as unusual as it is uplifting. Luckily, Wolves have a structure to nurture this sort of character and in Rob Edwards, he has a coach with huge experience of working with young players who knows when to tighten the leash and when to let Mane run free.

‘He has the right mentality for first-team football,’ says Edwards. ‘It can take some people a while to get there but with him it’s a case of, “I’m here. This is what I do”.

‘When they come into the first team, a lot of teenagers might change their game and play a bit safer, but he’s doing exactly what he did in the age-group sides.

‘We all have to try to remain humble, especially now when he’s performing in the Premier League because it reaches so far and wide. It’s not his fault – it’s because he’s done so well – but everyone is talking about him. If he keeps his feet on the ground and keeps working hard, because he’s got the talent he will go on and do really well.

‘That’s all we can try to do – give him the right messages, keep working hard, stay grounded. He’s got good people around him and there are good people at the club to help him in this period.

‘While he’s doing what he’s doing there’s going to be a lot of noise around him because it’s not normal for an 18-year-old.’

‘When they come into the first team, a lot of teenagers might change their game and play a bit safer, but he’s doing exactly what he did in the age-group sides,’ says Wolves boss Rob Edwards

In the ultra-polished, image-conscious world of today’s Premier League, there is a refreshing artlessness about Mane

Mane’s rise has been similarly unconventional. He was born in Portugal to parents who moved from Guinea-Bissau, but by the age of eight he had moved to Manchester. He can switch easily between Portuguese and English and speaks with a pronounced Mancunian accent. He is eligible for both Portugal and England and has represented the latter at Under-18 level, and also took part in a training camp with Portugal Under 17s.

While playing grassroots football in the Manchester area, Mane was spotted by National League Rochdale aged 15 and made it on to the bench for the senior side, though never on to the pitch. 

At 16, he had signed for Wolves, who fought off significant competition to take him to Molineux.

Mane was well known to his peers in the North West long before he moved to Rochdale. When he was 16, he was invited to compete in a one-on-one event organised by Top Baller, a group who try to give promising young footballers a platform to showcase their talent. Mane was already on Wolves’ books when he took part and, naturally, he won.

‘Since I was young, everyone has told me I was really good at football and that I’d do really well in the future,’ Mane has said. ‘They said I should keep it up.

‘I wanted to become a professional footballer to show everyone that a young kid who basically came from nothing is going to be great one day and make my family proud, to think their son accomplished something.

‘It was a great event. People knew me and expected me to do well and that put pressure on me. I wanted at least to get to the final of the Top Baller event but to win it was just great.’

Not since Morgan Gibbs-White made his senior Wolves debut as a 16-year-old has an academy player made such an impact in the first team. Though Gibbs-White never quite fulfilled his potential with his boyhood club, he moved to Nottingham Forest for £25m in 2022 and is now a regular with England who attracted strong interest from Manchester City last season.

Former manager Vitor Pereira deserves credit for Mane’s emergence. Pereira spotted Mane’s potential soon after walking through the door and added him to the first-team squad 

 Mane takes on the Liverpool defence during their Premier League clash just after Christmas

Though Vitor Pereira was sacked in the autumn after a disastrous start to his first full season with Wolves, the Portuguese deserves credit for Mane’s emergence. Pereira spotted Mane’s potential soon after walking through the door at the club’s Compton training ground and quickly added him to the first-team squad this season.

Pereira and his staff spent a good deal of time with Mane – unusual for a manager whose priority is to win the next game, rather than encourage a youngster who might not break through in time to repay that faith. 

When Pereira departed, some at Wolves feared Mane would drift, but Edwards has ensured that has not happened.

Mane’s prize for winning that one-on-one competition was a PlayStation 5. If he continues to show those skills in the Premier League, the rewards for him and his club will be considerably more lucrative.