Francisco Trincao, 21, joins Wolves on a season-long loan; the Premier League club have an option to make the move permanent for £25m next summer; Rayan Ait-Nouri close to joining the Molineux club from Angers in a £10m deal following a season-long loan
Sunday 4 July 2021 15:00, UK
Wolves have agreed a deal to sign Francisco Trincao on loan from Barcelona until the end of the season and are closing in on a permanent deal for Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The Premier League club have an option to buy Trincao for £25m next summer.
The 21-year-old winger joined Barcelona last year for £26.5m and has six caps for Portugal.
He made 28 La Liga appearances for Barcelona last season, scoring three goals.
"We've watched him a lot, especially over the last couple of months, so he's been on our radar for quite a while," said Wolves technical director Scott Sellars.
"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."
Trincao will travel to the UK on Sunday but will need to quarantine before joining the Wolves squad.
The club return to pre-season training on Monday, which will be the first time new head coach Bruno Lage meets the players since taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo.
Trincao has already played with six of his new Wolves team-mates for Portugal.
"We have a large Portuguese contingent, and they look after each other well, but are also integrated in the whole group," Sellars added.
"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."
Meanwhile, Wolves are close to finalising the signing of Ait-Nouri for £10m from Angers.
The France U21 defender was on loan at Molineux last season and his deal included a £20m option but that was declined.
Instead, Wolves have agreed a £10m deal with a sell-on clause, which can be bought out at a later date.
Ait-Nouri's arrival next week will see Wolves sell wing-back Ruben Vinagre to Sporting Lisbon, also for £10m.
Vinagre impressed the Portuguese champions while on loan at Famalicao last season.
