Mateus Mane: Why both Manchester United and Liverpool are linked with the multi-talented Wolves wonderkid

Mane was born in Portugal to parents from Guinea-Bissau, and some of his favourite childhood memories are playing football with his older brother, Marcos, and his friends on a "little pitch" outside the local library.

He says he would come home covered in bumps and bruises, but that going up against older kids helped him not only toughen up, but improve his skills. Indeed, it was clear from the moment he arrived in Moston, Manchester with his mother in 2015 that the eight-year-old Mane was a seriously talented kid.

He couldn't speak a word of English at the time, but he let his football do the talking for him, and after spending some time with City Select (a programme run by Manchester City), Manchester Cobras, Moston Brook and the Bee Inspired Football Academy, he was recommended to Rochdale in 2023 by a friend who'd just signed for the club.

"He told the manager that I should get a trial and Tony Ellis said he wanted to sign me after my first training session!" Mane revealed. "I wanted to be in an academy, so I signed and started playing regularly for the 18s."

Less than six months later, he was named on the bench for the senior side's National League clash with Dagenham & Redbridge. He was still only 16 years of age at the time.

"You could see the difference from the academy, some of them were technically very good, and I’d come up from the grassroots, so it was a big step," Mane explained. "But I wanted to get on the pitch. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, but it made me hungry for more. I always believed in myself, that I was born to play."

In June 2023, Wolves appointed Ellis as their new head of north academy recruitment. Just over six months later, the club signed Mane after a successful trial.

"When I came to Wolves I just thought, 'Yeah, this is the place,'" Mane told Sky Sports. "I spoke to my mum and dad and it just felt like home, with the players and staff. The first day I came in, the players welcomed me, they were talking to me like I’ve been here all my life. The staff welcomed me too and were always asking if I needed anything."

Mane felt just as comfortable on the field and was fast-tracked to the first team by former Wolves boss Vitor Pereira, who first named him on the bench for a game against Fulham in February of last year. He was also an unused substitute in the subsequent clashes with Tottenham and Manchester United before, on May 10, 2025, Mane made history by becoming the youngest Premier League debutant in Wolves' history when he came on in the dying minutes of a 2-0 defeat at home to Brighton.

"I'm sure he'll be a surprise in England, in this league," Pereira told reporters afterwards. "He's a player with talent and for sure next season he'll be in the first team with us.

"He's not only a talent, he's a worker, and in that moment of the game it was not just to give him the minutes, it was because I think he can do something because he's special."

Despite Pereira's praise, Mane didn't actually feature once for Wolves before the Portuguese coach's dismissal on November 2, after a historically poor start to the 2025-26 season. The youngster only got his first minutes of the campaign under interim boss Jamie Collins, against Chelsea, before becoming a regular under Pereira's permanent successor, Rob Edwards, who gave Mane his first start at Anfield on December 27.

"I found out the day before in a meeting that I was playing - I was buzzing," Mane admitted. "I told my family, then felt confident. At first, there were a lot of nerves, but then after a bit you realise this is where you want to play, where you want to be.

"I feel like I deserved it with my hard work in training and when I’ve come on the pitch every game. I just kept working with my head down, I kept working and working, then the new manager came in and trusted me, and now I'm getting what deserved – game time."

Edwards started him again three days later, at another of football's most famous grounds, Old Trafford, and Mane was arguably the best player on the pitch as Wolves picked up only their third point of the season by holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw.

The following week, he inspired the Premier League's basement boys to their first win of the campaign by winning a penalty and then opening his account at senior level in a 3-0 victory over West Ham at Molineux.

"We found him a lot in between the lines, and he was able to create," Edwards enthused. "I thought his energy was brilliant, his running was brilliant, he took risks, he had shots, he dribbled, he turned and played forward... just a real shining light."

With his pace, strength, awareness and trickery, Mane is clearly an incredibly gifted footballer, which is why he's capable of playing in a variety of positions. Although he sees No.10 as his best role because of his vision and eye for goal, it's worth noting that Edwards had no issue deploying him as a No.8 at Old Trafford because of an injury-related, last-minute reshuffle. Why? Because he believes that Mane is blessed with an in-depth understanding of the game.

"What I love about him is his intelligence," Edwards said. "But there's his enthusiasm, his bravery and obviously then his technical quality as well. He is ticking a lot of the boxes."

Then there's the confidence. Mane has zero doubts about his ability to play at the highest level and Edwards says that kind of self-belief is "infectious".

"He is rubbing off on people, I think, with his energy," the Wolves boss added. "He's only 18, but he is almost like a little bit of a leader in there now."

Edwards has acknowledged that Mane is still getting to grips with the intensity and physicality of the Premier League - which is perfectly normal for one so young.

"Mateus has got a lot more to go because he is 18," he said. "But we are going to see that in time. He is going to continue to get stronger and stronger."

The feeling is that his decision-making will also improve as he gains even more exposure to the unrelenting pace of England's top-flight, as it has been noted that he sometimes takes the wrong option - or waits too long to release the ball.

"The positions he gets into are good and he wants to get the ball on the half-turn and be positive in the way he plays," club legend Andy Thompson told Wolves Matchday Live after Mane's outing at Anfield. "I also know that he is only a young lad, but if you are going to excel in this league, you have got to get your decision-making right.

"He is willing to make things happen, but there were a half-dozen times when he got into one position where the ball had to be offloaded to the player in front of him, and that comes with experience."

As a thrilling teenage talent that's exploded onto the scene at Molineux, Mane has inevitably drawn comparisons to Wolves icon Robbie Keane. In terms of playing style, though, Mane is more of an attacking midfielder than a striker, even if he showed with a wonderfully well-taken goal against Everton that he can certainly finish.

In fact, his aforementioned strike against West Ham reminded a lot of Wolves fans of Matheus Nunes, who left for Manchester City last summer but congratulated Mane on his first Premier League goal on social media.

It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to learn that the Portugal international sees a little of himself in Mane. There's the same confidence on the ball and the same willingness to drive at defenders from deeper positions. In truth, though, Mane is very much his own man, a unique talent that looks as comfortable in the middle of the park as he does up front.

Mane's next move is very hard to predict. This is a kid who accepted an invite from England's Under-18s to play against Portugal back in 2024, but has most recently lined out for the country of his birth at U21s level. It's clear that he'll do whatever he feels is best for his career, and development.

What we can say for certain, though, is that Mane won't be short on options, and he could easily feel that he would benefit, particularly physically, from playing on a weekly basis in the notoriously competitive Championship next season.

He's obviously very grateful to Wolves for giving him a chance to play Premier League football at such a young age and has quickly formed a strong bond with the fans that now regularly sing his name to the tune of The Cranberries' classic 'Zombie'.

However, it's believed that both Liverpool and United were hugely impressed by the quality and character Mane showed at their respective home grounds back in December and are considering summer moves for the versatile 18-year-old attacker.

Whether a high-profile transfer to one of the top teams in England is really the right decision at this particular point in time is open to debate, but it certainly wouldn't intimidate Mane. He really does believe he was born to play football and, based on his performances over the past five months, we tend to agree.

Click here to read article