From Rochdale to Premier League: the making of Mane

Mateus Mane is reminiscing about playing with older brother Marcos and his friends.

“They used to bully me off the ball. I feel that’s helped me a lot, especially playing on concrete,” says the Wolves forward.

“I wasn’t used to good pitches. That’s probably why I’ve got loads of scars.”

The 18-year-old started to develop his skills in Moston, a suburb four miles north east of Manchester, after moving to England with his mother from Portugal aged eight.

He knew no English, taking a year to understand the language, but playing with Marcos was the foundation for his rise to the Premier League.

Mane has been the brightest spot in Wolves’ bleak season, which will end in relegation with Rob Edwards’ side having won just twice this season.

In his breakthrough campaign, he has started every Premier League game since making his full debut against Liverpool at Anfield in December.

He faces the Reds again in the FA Cup on Friday at Molineux – three days after Tuesday’s dramatic 2-1 injury-time win in the Premier League.

Two years after being on the bench for Rochdale in the National League, Mane is already becoming a household name.

Soon after moving to England he started to admire Manchester City pair Sergio Aguero and David Silva and tried to copy Neymar after watching YouTube clips.

Having joined City Select Academy, Mane played for Manchester Cobras as a youngster as well as Moston Brook FC.

There was little time for much more, yet he still gave parents a run for their money.

“They’d say I was a bit cheeky as a child, but I was a young kid,” he said. “Every kid can be cheeky and I’ll say I was hard work for my parents. Most of the time I feel like I’ve grown up, I matured.”

Mane still goes home on a Sunday, when fixtures allow, to go to church and his maturity is showing on the pitch too after joining Rochdale’s academy in 2023 aged 15.

It was run then by Tony Ellis – now Wolves’ head of northern recruitment – with Mane asked to sign after his first training session.

“He lit the place up. He’s technical, his attributes were ridiculous for such a young boy,” recalled Ellis, who also recommended the frontman to Wolves.

“The way he received the ball, the way he drove, his decision-making. Just a technically good footballer.

“He was happy in the environment, always had a ball, always communicating with players and staff.

“When you’d finished the session, he’d be the first one to go and put the cones away or get the balls. He gained the trust of staff and players really, really quickly.”

It has been a steep curve since, with former boss Vitor Pereira handing him his debut against Brighton in May last year, while Wolves assistant Harry Watling quickly identified his talent after he and current manager Rob Edwards arrived in November to take charge.

Mane has blossomed and wants to look at his clips as soon as he is off the pitch, striking up a close relationship with Watling.

In return he has two goals in 20 appearances, including his first in Wolves’ long-awaited opening win of the season against West Ham in January.

Mane’s belief shines through as he added: “I’ve said to myself one day I’ll play in the Premier League, I’ll score goals in the Premier League.

“My plan was just work hard, keep going every day and it came sooner than I thought, I was grateful.

“Every young kids’ dream is to play in the Premier League. I jumped off my seat, took my bib off, ready to come on and when I came on, my nerves just started coming up.

“But when I won my first header, my nerves just went. I was like, ‘yeah, I deserve to be here. I want to be here’.

“I feel like, as a youngster coming into a team where there’s loads of senior and experienced players, it’s a bit hard. But if you earn your respect then you can tell him, ‘come on and keep going’.

With Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid among the clubs reportedly interested in a summer transfer, Mane’s confidence and form has also got Portugal and England battling over his international future.

Both countries have watched him, with Portugal boss Roberto Martinez close with Wolves technical director Matt Jackson – the pair having played together at Wigan.

England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley is also taking a keen interest and Mane, an England Under-18 international, will have a decision to make.

“He’s got a really high ceiling, I think because of his mentality, because of his quality and because he’s not finished developing yet,” said Wolves boss Edwards.

“He can go a long, long way. It’s been a really good start for him but that is all it is.

“He’s getting a lot of headlines and there’s a lot of noise about him, there’s not many 18-year-olds in the Premier League doing what he’s doing at the moment, especially in a team that’s been struggling this season.