According to Teamtalk, Wolverhampton forward Adama Traore is frustrated with his lack of opportunities at Molineux and Middlesbrough are interested to have him back on loan in January.
The 22-year-old has made 14 appearances for Wolves in the Premier League so far but only 3 of those have come as starts. Traore has netted only once in the top-flight this season, with his only goal being the winner in Wolves’ 1-0 victory over West Ham earlier in the season.
Tough competition from the likes of Helder Costa, Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez coupled with the emergence of academy product Morgan Gibbs-White has hampered Traore’s progress at Molineux.
The former Barcelona youth product, who was snapped up by Wolves for £18million in the summer following their promotion to the top-flight, was one of the stars of the Championship last term.
Traore racked up as many as 5 goals and 10 assists from 36 appearances for Middlesbrough last season but he has failed to hit the ground running in the Premier League this term.
Having splashed £18million to sign the speedster in the summer, it is safe to suggest that Wolves would have expected a finished product who can adapt easily to the Premier League standards. In all honesty, it hasn’t only been about the lack of regular minutes and Nuno Santo has given Traore a fair crack of the whip to prove his mettle.
Granted, he can prove to be a handful for the opposition with his blistering pace and fleet-footed nature as a winger but he lacks the tactical awareness to make a significant impact.
Traore is not the sort of player who can keep up the same tempo for the full ninety minutes and from what we have seen of him so far, he is more of an off-the-bench impact player who can make a marked difference in the last 20 minutes or so when the opposition start to run out of steam. Hence, it is tough to blame the manager for not fielding him in the starting eleven on a regular basis.
As fast and skilfull as he is, the 22-year-old hasn’t shown the awareness and the vision to pick out the perfect pass and combine effectively with his teammates. In fact, he has proven himself to be a glaring misfit for Nuno Santo’s style of play which lays more emphasis on build-up and holding play in the final third.
Traore can wreak havoc when he gets on the ball but he doesn’t do a lot when he is deprived of the ball, one of the multiple areas of his game that he needs to work on if he is to make his mark in the Premier League.
Wolves are well-stocked as far as their options in the attacking third are concerned. Raul Jimenez, Helder Costa and Diogo Jota have all done a good job, rising to the occasion to adapt their game to match the standards of the Premier League. Nuno Santo also has the option of turning to Morgan Gibbs-White and Ivan Cavaleiro, both of whom can prove to be potential match-winners on their day.
That said, Wolves should loan Traore out to his former club in January to give him more time to work on the flaws of his game and hope that he returns to the Molineux as a much more complete player.