OFFICIAL: Barcelona loan Trincao to Wolves

Barcelona have loaned forward Francisco Trincao to Premier League side Wolves for the 2021/22 season.

The move was officially confirmed by both clubs on Sunday, with Wolves holding a “non-compulsory” option to buy the 21-year-old on a permanent basis.

Trincao is Wolves' second summer signing after Colombian defender Yerson Mosquera, who joined from Atletico Nacional.

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New manager Bruno Lage is overseeing a busy summer at Wolves with multiple transfers in and out of the club expected after the departure of Nuno Espirito Santo to Tottenham.

Wolves technical director Scott Sellars was delighted to land Trincao, who has played six times for Portugal.

Sellars said: “He’s a really exciting player. It’s an area we’d like more competition, in terms of wide players.

“I think the fans are going to enjoy watching him play, he drives with the ball well and has good creativity.

“We’ve watched him a lot, especially over the last couple of months, so he’s been on our radar for quite a while.

“He’s got loads of quality – signing for Barcelona from Braga shows what potential he’s got.

“He’s 21 and has played quite a lot of games in La Liga, so we think he’s ready for the Premier League.

“He’s a player who drifts past people and he has a great change of direction when he’s moving with the ball.

“He has great speed over two or three yards, to change direction and get away from people, can score and create, and is an exciting player.

“He’s a player who has good experience, a good pedigree in terms of club and international games he’s had, so he’s certainly a player who is going to add quality to the squad.

“We have a large Portuguese contingent, and they look after each other well, but are also integrated in the whole group.

“They’re really hard-working, with a good mentality, so I’m sure he’ll integrate well and settle in quickly.

“With the manager’s Portuguese background, he knows him and speaks very highly of him, so he’s a player we’re very excited to be bringing to the club.”

Trincao at Barcelona

Trincao joined Barca from Braga in January 2020, signing a five-year contract in a deal worth around €31 million.

The move itself did not take effect until July 2020, meaning Trincao only stayed at Camp Nou for one season before this move.

He was regularly involved in the matchday squad under Ronald Koeman last season but less often in the starting XI.

Trincao played a total of 42 matches, though just 10 of those were starts.

The attacker scored three goals and added two assists with all five goal involvements coming in La Liga despite the fact he only started three top-flight games.

Trincao was an unused substitute in the Copa del Rey final win over Athletic Bilbao but had been involved earlier in that successful run to silverware.

His best performance in Barca colours came as he scored twice in the 5-1 win over Deportivo Alaves in February.

That came six days after he had netted in a victory at Real Betis but that sequence could not kickstart his Camp Nou career as he remained a fringe player for Koeman.

Trincao had previously come through the youth system at Braga and played for the club's B team before making his first-team debut in 2018.

He caught Barca's attention in 2019/20 when he registered 14 goal involvements (eight goals, six assists) in 27 league games (17 starts) for Braga.