Matthews Mane: Portugal wants the England Under-18 striker

But Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca, who was appointed last year, is an admirer of Mane and is keen to convince him to play for Portugal.

England Under-21s coach Lee Carsley has also expressed a strong interest.

Mane, who moved to England aged eight, may initially be called up for Portugal’s Under-21 squad, but could also train with the first team, with Martinez keen to quickly include him in the squad after the World Cup.

Sources told BBC Sport that no decision has been made regarding Mane’s international future, with Mane keen to focus on his club form.

He joined Wolves from Rochdale in February 2024 and made his debut under Vitor Pereira in a 2-0 loss to Brighton in May.

This season Mane has been one of the few bright spots in Wolves’ miserable campaign after making significant progress into the first team under Rob Edwards.

Mane has scored twice in 20 appearances – becoming the club’s youngest Premier League scorer – but Wolves are bottom of the Premier League and expected to be relegated.

Since making his debut for Liverpool in December, Mane has started Wolves’ last 11 league matches.

The team is 17 points behind the safety zone with 10 matches remaining, having won only once, and will host Aston Villa on Friday.

Wolves need two points to avoid breaking Derby’s Premier League record low of 11 points set in the 2007-08 season.