Wolverhampton Wanderers look set to retain the services of Francisco Trincao for the remainder of the season.

What's the talk?

That's according to a recent claim made by Bruno Lage, with the Wolves manager suggesting in comments made to Birmingham Live that he expects the Barcelona loanee to remain at Molineux until at least the end of the current campaign.

Earlier reports had claimed that, following Xavi's appointment as Ronald Koeman's successor at Barcelona, the Spaniard wanted the 22-year-old to return to the Camp Nou ahead of the second half of the Spanish season.

However, with a matter of days now remaining in the January transfer window, and, at present, the LaLiga side having not acted upon Xavi's apparent desire for the return of the Portugal international, it would seem as if Trincao will remain with Lage's side beyond the end of the month.

Speaking about the future of the winger, the 45-year-old manager said: "I'm thinking about him until the end of the season."

Fans will be buzzing

While Trincao has not exactly been in the most prolific form in front of goal this season, having so far failed to find the back of the net or provide a single assist over his 17 Premier League appearances, the fact that Barcelona look as if they will not be recalling the winger in January is nevertheless sure to leave Wolves fans buzzing.

Indeed, with Adama Traore being heavily linked with a move away from Molineux this month, the £19.8m-rated Trincao will undoubtedly be handed a much more prominent role in Lage's first-team squad - should the Spaniard go on to seal his switch to Tottenham Hotspur.

While it is true that the £131k-per-week winger has featured regularly for Wolves since his move to the club last summer, only 12 of his total league outings have come as starts, while the 22-year-old has also completed 90 minutes of a Premier League match just once.

As such, with Traore out of the picture, Trincao will likely be handed a greater share of minutes in the Wolves side, something which should, in theory, see the forward begin to make his mark with both goals and assists for the club - something that will undoubtedly be an outcome both Lage and fans would love.

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