Why Wolves should prioritise a new deal for Adama Traore
According to Sky Sports, Wolves are planning to hold negotiations with star winger Adama Traore over a new deal to secure his long-term future at Molineux.
The 24-year-old already has three years left to run on his existing contract with the Black County outfit until 2023 but Wolves are hopeful of convincing the former Barcelona graduate to put pen to paper fresh terms in the coming days.
Profile
A youth product of Barcelona, Adama Traore featured mainly for the reserves and made only 4 first-team appearances before moving to England with Aston Villa in 2015. He scored just once in 11 outings as the Villans suffered relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2015-16 season.
Traore was snapped up by newly-promoted Middlesbrough in the summer of 2016 but he once again struggled to make a big impact and suffered relegation from the top-flight for the second successive campaign. The wing wizard, though, tormented defences for fun in the Championship, registering 5 goals and 10 assists in 36 appearances during the 2017-18 season.
The 24-year-old’s impressive debut season in the second-tier paved the way for a move back to the Premier League with newly-promoted Wolves in the summer of 2018. Traore once again struggled to deliver on his potential in the top-flight, starting just 8 PL games in 2018-19 and scoring just once in 36 appearances across all competitions.
Traore, though, enjoyed a complete U-turn of fortunes at Molineux last term and showed massive improvement in terms of his end product in the final third. The right-footed trickster went on to plunder an impressive 6 goals and 12 assists in 54 appearances across all competitions last season as Wolves finished 7th in the PL and made it to the quarter-final of the Europa League.
Traore certainly deserves a new deal
Wolves have had a much busier summer transfer window than they would have anticipated. The likes of Fabio Silva, Nelson Semedo, Fernando Marcal, Ki-Jana Hoever, and Vitor Ferreira have all come through the door at Molineux.
It remains to be seen whether Nuno Espirito Santo opts to bring in further reinforcements before the domestic deadline on October 16. Regardless of that, however, Wolves certainly can’t afford to lose any of their mainstays moving forward, having recently parted ways with key players like Diogo Jota and Matt Doherty.
The Black County outfit have since moved quickly to tie down captain Conor Coady and last season’s top-scorer Raul Jimenez to new long-term deals. Manager Nuno Santo, who has been pivotal to the club’s meteoric rise over the past few years, also penned a new contract last month.
Hence, it is clear that Wolves have made a genuine attempt to preserve their key assets and a new deal for Adama Traore would represent a continuation of the same policy. The 24-year-old has evolved into one of the best wingers in the Premier League over the past 12 months and is arguably the most vital cog in Wolves’ attack alongside Jimenez.
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Verdict
Adama Traore has started to deliver on his potential after a sluggish start to his career and still has his best years ahead of him at 24. The ex- La Masia graduate has also attracted interest from PL champions Liverpool after enjoying a sensational campaign last time around.
Wolves, though, definitely need him to be a part of their plans if they are to consolidate on their back-to-back 7th-place finishes in the PL while challenging for a return to Europe. Hence, a new deal for the Spaniard should be an absolute no-brainer for Nuno Santo’s side.
