Liam Keen
Published17th Apr 2026, 08:30 BST
Rob Edwards has backed ‘brilliant’ Mateus Mane to make an impact for Wolves in the remaining weeks of the season.
Following calls from some fans to give him a rest, the teenager was dropped against West Ham and gave the ball away shortly after coming on, which led to the Hammers’ second goal.
But Edwards does not believe the rigours of the Premier League are catching up with him after an impressive breakthrough campaign in the top flight.
He said: "He was doing so well, people would have been talking about him, saying 'this kid's someone that we've got to be aware of'.
"The impact that he made really early on, as an 18-year-old, it's going to spike interest and everyone's talking about him.
"It's almost impossible for any 18-year-old to continue to score winners or equalisers or continue to just affect games with goals and assists in the way that he was early on.
"People were saying that he needs to come out or he needs a bit of a break, but he was still doing so many good things that people, not necessarily everyone, would recognise.
"I don't think it was because the intensity was getting a lot. 14 starts that he'd had in a row, it's amazing. It's really hard for a 25-year-old to do it, never mind an 18-year-old. He’s done brilliantly.”
The teenager picked up an assist at Arsenal in a late 2-1 defeat in December and shortly after he made his first top flight start, before going on to make 14 consecutive Premier League starts up to the West Ham game.
He scored in back-to-back games against West Ham and Everton in early January but has not scored since, although he star continues to rise due to his breakthrough in a struggling side.
As a result of his form, Mane was called up in the last international break and chose to represent Portugal under-21s, having played for both Portugal and England at other youth levels.
Edwards added: "That's totally his decision and he has to be able to make that.
"If he wanted to come and speak to me about it, I'd be open, I'd listen. But it's not for me to try and influence or speak to him about it in any way.
"He needs to go with what he feels and that's what he did.”
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