Pep Guardiola asked questions! Should Wolves wonderkid Mateus Mane stay put amid mounting transfer interest & will he pick England or Portugal at international level?

The 2025-26 campaign has been a breakthrough one for Mane, who made his debut on the final day of last season. He has taken in 26 appearances across all competitions, scoring two Premier League goals in the process.

The livewire forward may not be gracing that division next term, with Wolves already condemned to relegation out of the top-flight and a return to the Championship. Inevitable questions are being asked of whether Mane can be kept at Molineux.

He is tied to a contract through to 2029, so there is no pressure in the West Midlands to part with a prized asset that should see his asking price - which is already said to stand at £50 million ($68m) - increase over the coming years.

Regular game time in the second tier of English football may be no bad thing, as further potential is unlocked in his game, with there no need for him to rush a step up into the big time. Future opportunities will present themselves if impressive individual standards can be maintained.

Wolves have offered no indication that they will be inviting offers, but are fully aware of the admiring glances that continue to be shot in the direction of a hot prospect. Quizzed on whether Mane should stay put, and how difficult that will be to achieve, Gray - speaking in association with Kiwislots - told GOAL during an exclusive interview: “I think so. I've seen him quite a few times this season, I have covered Wolves on a few occasions, and he's an exceptional talent, there's no doubt, but he's raw at the moment.

“If you think of where he's come from, his background, going out to different clubs when he was younger, and then coming back to Wolves and being thrown into the deep end, but he's kind of the go-to man if you look at the way that Wolves have played over the last 10-15 games towards the end of the season.

“I was actually in the tunnel after Wolves played Manchester City and Pep Guardiola was having a conversation with Rob Edwards about him, so I think that kind of says it all really. He's seen a talent, he's asked a question about him, and I think you can only see him getting better because he's got all the attributes to be a brilliant Premier League player if he keeps his feet on the ground.

“But if I was him, and it's very difficult because agents get in players’ ears, but if I was him, I think another year playing Championship football would do him the world of good.”

Mane was born in Barreiro, Portugal but moved to England at the age of eight. He has represented the Young Lions at U18 level, but since switched to the land of his birth in the U21 set-up.

Pressed on whether Mane could become another Jamal Musiala or Michael Olise for England, as senior allegiance is pledged elsewhere, ex-Wolves and Three Lions full-back Gray said: “He's got his opportunity, hasn't he, playing for different countries.

“There's no need for him to start pushing to try and play international football. Even next season, he's going to get that opportunity somewhere down the line. It's going to be on his doorstep, and I think it'll depend on who's in charge of England at the time.

“If he's able to go through a path of maybe getting his opportunity to play in a Nations League game or something like that, I don't know. But if it is Portugal, then yeah, we've got so many talented players in that number 10 position.

“You have to make a big decision at a certain age, and he might have to make that big decision of what country he wants to actually represent.”

The opportunity to work with five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is of obvious appeal to anybody that boasts ties to the Portugal national team. He may be 41 years of age, but there is no sign of the evergreen GOAT slowing down.

Mane may get the chance to line up alongside CR7 at some stage, while there is enough speculation regarding his senior career path to suggest that he could also follow in the footsteps of an iconic countryman when it comes to competing for Premier League titles - potentially with Manchester United - in the not too distant future.