Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Francisco Trincao is not expected to be ‘signed permanently’, according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor.

The 22-year-old spent the entire 2021/22 campaign with the Midlands outfit after departing Barcelona on a temporary basis but struggled to make the desired impact.

What is the latest news involving Trincao?

Wolves have the option to buy Trincao for £25 million and manager Bruno Lage recently revealed that he is set to sit down with the club’s hierarchy before making any final decisions over his squad.

“There are a lot of things in question, and to be honest we need to understand every situation to finalise the squad that we want,” the Portuguese tactician explained.

“We need to understand that can happen. We will sit down one more time and discuss everything.”

However, reporter Bruno Andrade has claimed that Trincao indicated his desire to join Sporting CP next season, allowing him to link back up with manager Ruben Amorim.

The duo enjoyed a successful stint together at Braga and is being lined as a potential replacement for Pablo Sarabia, who was only on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

What has Taylor said about Trincao?

Taylor believes that Trincao has ‘huge potential’ and has shown his quality in ‘glimpses’ but that his time at Wolves hasn’t ‘really worked out’ and is likely to leave over the summer.

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He told GiveMeSport: “I don't think Wolves are going to exercise their option to buy. He’s a player with huge potential and has shown in glimpses that he's got a lot of quality, but it's not really worked out for one reason or another.

“It looks like he could go to Sporting on loan, but Lage seemed to suggest the other day that no decision has been made yet, but I expect him not to be signed permanently. The figures £25 million, which is obviously quite substantial.”

How big a loss would Trincao be?

Putting the ball in the back of the opposition’s net was a major problem for Wolves this season, and those struggles were shared by Trincao.

The Portugal international registered just three goals and one assist in 30 appearances for Lage’s charges across all competitions, and his underlying numbers were equally as disappointing.

As per WhoScored, Trincao managed just 0.6 crosses, 0.5 key passes and 1.1 shots per game, leaving him outside of the top five when compared to his teammates for each metric.

Spending £25m on a player who contributed so little perhaps wouldn’t be a wise decision for Wolves, and Lage will surely be targeting a player who can provide a more telling contribution in the final third instead.