One thing that Wolverhampton Wanderers were excellent at doing under Nuno Santo was developing young players.
It was a specific philosophy that Nuno and the club’s owners Fosun wanted to set out and stick to.
In developing the likes of Ruben Neves, Pedro Neto and Diogo Jota at Molineux, it has been a roaring success.
Wolves have qualified for Europe and are now an established Premier League outfit to boot.
Therefore, the idea of Bruno Lage becoming the new head coach in the Midlands makes a certain degree of sense.
Only a work permit hearing on Wednesday stands in the way of the Portuguese becoming Wolves’ new manager and if he does arrive, they should look forward to more success on the youth front.
Lage had a phenomenal impact at Benfica and in winning the 2018/19 top-flight title, developed the likes of Ruben Dias and Joao Felix.
Dias has since become the FWA Premier League Player of the Season and Felix now holds the record as the fourth most expensive footballer of all time at £113m.
Felix’s devastating improvement under Lage was eye-catching and should have a number of players at Wolves pondering whether they could have a similar impact.
Though, the Old Gold may have to wait for a new signing to arrive to feel the full force of Lage’s powers.
Wolves have been linked with a loan move for Barcelona starlet Trincao in recent months.
[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-news-guedes-toney-shaqiri-neves" title="Read the latest Wolves transfer news!"]
It’s a typical target; he’s Portuguese, a client of Jorge Mendes and is young enough to craft how you like.
Of course, his future presumably lies in Catalonia but Lage could turn him into something special at Molineux.
Trincao is capable of playing on the flanks and has a devastating skill set, one the incoming Wolves boss should relish getting his hands on after what he achieved with Felix.
The Atletico forward ended up scoring 17 goals and registering ten assists in 29 games under the 45-year-old, developing at a remarkable rate.
Barcelona’s prodigy is yet to hit those dizzy heights but there have been some promising signs.
Compared to Neymar by Benfica legend Nuno Gomes, there is plenty to like about his game. In scoring nine goals and registering 13 assists last term for Braga, he proved he could be a potent attacking threat.
Trincao scored just three times for Barca this term but only started on a trio of occasions in La Liga.
Thus, with more opportunities for regular outings at Wolves he could begin to thrive again. Lage hasn’t been a stranger to handing chances to young players and in Trincao he would have a genuine star, someone with the potential to reach Felix’s output in the next few years.
Dubbed a “complete” player by former teammate Abel Ruiz, the £22.5m-rated talent is someone to really get excited about.
Lage must try and bring him to Molineux if he becomes the new manager.