Adama Traore

[The Mercurial No.10]

It would be interesting to see how he would do in a better team. The biggest problem I think Traore has here is that better teams tend to move the ball around much quicker than teams on our (wolves) level. They rely more on dynamic movement and quick interchanges. Traore is the complete opposite to this, his best asset is his pace and dribbling and rarely will ever look for a pass. For instance, Semedo generally has better games for Wolves when Trincao plays on his side due to the fact they like to interplay and move for each other. Semedo isn't as effective when Traore plays as he doesn't move off the ball enough and rarely looks for the pass.

Neither of those can change a game like he does though, I have a notion about Conte's methods and Traore in particular which I think will be a good combination. I also like his versatility, he can do a job off a front man and is competitive in the air for the size of him, have seen him play both sides etc. He keeps himself in tremendous shape, in and around the full Spain squad.

Think he might be better as a wingback in a 3-5-2 set up so he mostly has to get forwards. He'll also free up more space for our better attack than Wolves, how many times have you seen teams double up on him? How many yellow card fouls because they can't handle him? Our lot kicked the cunt out of him this season (as did Liverpool) and were shitting it every time he went near them.

I'd be pretty shocked if Tottenham didn't try to sign him this month.

If they can flog Bergwijn to Ajax and do it, it's not much net and an improvement to the squad IMO.

 

[Shotgunofmichalebrow]

Not sure it was dozens of players. It was 2 v Chelsea and if you look closely he only actually took it past 2 or 3 Burnley players. Both great goals but one from 2018 and 2019 so not like last week. He needs to open his legs a bit more regularly but seems a bit down on confidence

Oh it was only two or three. Your right not sure why they bothered with that award....
Spurs fans...

 

[Shotgunofmichalebrow]

Interesting point. Hopefully Conte could do something about that.

Was that anabolic....style

 

[Wolveseagle]

He will do much better at a bigger club with better players found

Neither of those can change a game like he does though, I have a notion about Conte's methods and Traore in particular which I think will be a good combination. I also like his versatility, he can do a job off a front man and is competitive in the air for the size of him, have seen him play both sides etc. He keeps himself in tremendous shape, in and around the full Spain squad.

Think he might be better as a wingback in a 3-5-2 set up so he mostly has to get forwards. He'll also free up more space for our better attack than Wolves, how many times have you seen teams double up on him? How many yellow card fouls because they cant handle him? Our lot kicked the cunt out of him this season (as did Liverpool) and were shitting it every time he went near them.

I'd be pretty shocked if Tottenham didn't try to sign him this month.

You do make some really good points. Some of his best games have come against Spurs over the past couple of years. On his day, there is nobody really like him and he is a nightmare for defenders which is why he draws so many fouls and yellow cards.

In contrast, having said all of this, most of his games he has been deemed 'unplayable' for Wolves, he has ended the game without a goal nor an assist. For a player that doesnt help defensively and who dictates our whole attacking game plan when playing, this is a massive problem. Wolves aren't the most potent of attacking threats, a lot due to our style at times, but Traore's decision making and final ball execution is the thing that severely let's him down. If he had a football brain and a final ball, he would have been playing for a much better team than Wolves a long time ago.

 

[Jenny Talia]

You do make some really good points. Some of his best games have come against Spurs over the past couple of years. On his day, there is nobody really like him and he is a nightmare for defenders which is why he draws so many fouls and yellow cards.

In contrast, having said all of this, most of his games he has been deemed 'unplayable' for Wolves, he has ended the game without a goal nor an assist. For a player that doesnt help defensively and who dictates our whole attacking game plan when playing, this is a massive problem. Wolves aren't the most potent of attacking threats, a lot due to our style at times, but Traore's decision making and final ball execution is the thing that severely let's him down. If he had a football brain and a final ball, he would have been playing for a much better team than Wolves a long time ago.

It can't be a coincidence that when Liverpool raided looking for an attacking player they went away with Jota.

 

[AlabamaSpur]

Hi, Wolves fan in peace.

I've seen a few posts that Traore has been dropped by Wolves in recent months due to his contract situation so I thought I would shed light on this.

Although it is fairly clear Traore doesn't want to sign a new contract with Wolves with the terms offered, the main reason he has been dropped is due to his goals and assists output. He's played 17/19 league games this season and has failed to register a goal or assist. For context, our goalkeeper has more goal contributions this season.

This season, we've tried to adopt a more possession style football playing slightly higher up the pitch than under Nuno. Although our attacking play in general hasn't been good this season, it's particularly hard to play a possession style approach when you have Adama playing who is constantly looking to get the ball to feet, offering no dynamic movements and taking 8-10 touches every time. One of the biggest frustrations from Wolves fans in recent years is that he seems to have the inability to make runs off the ball, in behind defenders where his pace really could be used to great effect. Instead, he will often hug the touchline and try to beat the 2/3 defenders down the byline.

As eluded to previously, the biggest problem with Traore is his goal contributions. In 121 league appearances, he has only registered 7 goals and 13 assists. When you consider that 4 goals and 9 assists of these were during the 2019/20 season during a hot phase with Jimenez, he has only scored or assisted a total of 7 goals in 2 and a half Premier league seasons outside of that.

Although I personally believe Traore is vastly overrated due to his amazing speed and dribbling ability, I do believe he could still be used effectively as an impact player or against certain opposition. For Wolves, he has often looked his best when playing against top sides who offer the space to counter attack. For context, 5 of his 7 premier league goals have come against the 'big 6' sides including a brace at the etihad 2 years ago. These games particularly benefit the team as he often finds himself deeper with a lot more space to run into. Due to this, teams often revert to tactically fouling him which often results in yellow cards and drawing fouls higher up the pitch. Being fair, these moments don't necessarily get reflected in the statistics but are very useful for getting a team like Wolves up the pitch in these games.

Alternatively to using Traore against the bigger teams, I would ever only use him as an impact sub personally when 'Plan A' isn't particularly working.

 

[matspur]

Oh it was only two or three. Your right not sure why they bothered with that award....
Spurs fans...

Watch it again. It’s true that people can’t catch up with him but he only has to actually go past a couple of actual tackles. Certainly wasn’t dozens as you claim. It was a great goal though

 

[The Mercurial No.10]

You do make some really good points. Some of his best games have come against Spurs over the past couple of years. On his day, there is nobody really like him and he is a nightmare for defenders which is why he draws so many fouls and yellow cards.

In contrast, having said all of this, most of his games he has been deemed 'unplayable' for Wolves, he has ended the game without a goal nor an assist. For a player that doesnt help defensively and who dictates our whole attacking game plan when playing, this is a massive problem. Wolves aren't the most potent of attacking threats, a lot due to our style at times, but Traore's decision making and final ball execution is the thing that severely let's him down. If he had a football brain and a final ball, he would have been playing for a much better team than Wolves a long time ago.

Goals and assists are over-simplistic statistics much of the time for me, the 3 goals Wolves scored vs edit: Aston Villa this season are a perfect example.

Would like Conte to get him to go for the goal-line more, he already wins a load of corners and I think he makes less mistakes when he's pulling it back.

 

[Wolveseagle]

Goals and assists are over-simplistic statistics much of the time for me, the 3 goals Wolves scored vs West Ham this season are a perfect example.

Would like Conte to get him to go for the goal-line more, he already wins a load of corners and I think he makes less mistakes when he's pulling it back.

I assume you mean against Aston Villa? He had a good game that day and won the free kick for our winning goal.

Generally, I would say goals and assists output is the best parameter for attacking players though as they are what ultimately decide games. He has missed several big chances this season (including against Aston Villa) whilst making the wrong decision on at least 4 occasions when in a 3v2 or 2v1 situation too. In my opinion, if these situations fell to players such as Son, Salah, Jota, Mahrez etc, it would result in a goal at least 70% of the time. Traore should be on at least 7/8 goal contributions this season, his end product is why he is on 0.

 

[sudoku]

I assume you mean against Aston Villa? He had a good game that day and won the free kick for our winning goal.

Generally, I would say goals and assists output is the best parameter for attacking players though as they are what ultimately decide games. He has missed several big chances this season (including against Aston Villa) whilst making the wrong decision on at least 4 occasions when in a 3v2 or 2v1 situation too. In my opinion, if these situations fell to players such as Son, Salah, Jota, Mahrez etc, it would result in a goal at least 70% of the time. Traore should be on at least 7/8 goal contributions this season, his end product is why he is on 0.

We know how you feel but what do you think Wolves' fans think about him leaving?
Is it just get as much dough as poss and feck him or do they want him to stay and sign a new contract?
I assume you are a member on a Wolves fan site.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Hi, Wolves fan in peace.

I've seen a few posts that Traore has been dropped by Wolves in recent months due to his contract situation so I thought I would shed light on this.

Although it is fairly clear Traore doesn't want to sign a new contract with Wolves with the terms offered, the main reason he has been dropped is due to his goals and assists output. He's played 17/19 league games this season and has failed to register a goal or assist. For context, our goalkeeper has more goal contributions this season.

This season, we've tried to adopt a more possession style football playing slightly higher up the pitch than under Nuno. Although our attacking play in general hasn't been good this season, it's particularly hard to play a possession style approach when you have Adama playing who is constantly looking to get the ball to feet, offering no dynamic movements and taking 8-10 touches every time. One of the biggest frustrations from Wolves fans in recent years is that he seems to have the inability to make runs off the ball, in behind defenders where his pace really could be used to great effect. Instead, he will often hug the touchline and try to beat the 2/3 defenders down the byline.

As eluded to previously, the biggest problem with Traore is his goal contributions. In 121 league appearances, he has only registered 7 goals and 13 assists. When you consider that 4 goals and 9 assists of these were during the 2019/20 season during a hot phase with Jimenez, he has only scored or assisted a total of 7 goals in 2 and a half Premier league seasons outside of that.

Although I personally believe Traore is vastly overrated due to his amazing speed and dribbling ability, I do believe he could still be used effectively as an impact player or against certain opposition. For Wolves, he has often looked his best when playing against top sides who offer the space to counter attack. For context, 5 of his 7 premier league goals have come against the 'big 6' sides including a brace at the etihad 2 years ago. These games particularly benefit the team as he often finds himself deeper with a lot more space to run into. Due to this, teams often revert to tactically fouling him which often results in yellow cards and drawing fouls higher up the pitch. Being fair, these moments don't necessarily get reflected in the statistics but are very useful for getting a team like Wolves up the pitch in these games.

Alternatively to using Traore against the bigger teams, I would ever only use him as an impact sub personally when 'Plan A' isn't particularly working.

Brilliant summary, thanks for sharing. That’s exactly how I see him. Wolves should try and flog him on this window to get some money in, but just not to us.

 

[Wolveseagle]

We know how you feel but what do you think Wolves' fans think about him leaving?
Is it just get as much dough as poss and feck him or do they want him to stay and sign a new contract?
I assume you are a member on a Wolves fan site.

Traore does divide a lot of opinion from Wolves fans.

Some posters think his value and output is much more important to the team than his stats may suggest. As aforementioned, his unique ability of having pace and power makes him a bit of an enigma.

On the other hand, other posters like me feel he just won't ever really get that consistent end product that we really need whilst he hinders our more possession-style approach under Lage. Regardless of view, I think most fans would say he's probably the most exciting player they've seen at Molineux though.

I think one of the big issues at the moment is the fact he only has 18 months left on his contract with him stalling over a new deal. I believe most of us would be happy for him to depart this month or in the summer so we can get a fee which will enable us to get a new CM or ST in. Our best winger, Pedro Neto returns to fitness soon so he could replace Traore in our squad.

 

[shempz]

The biggest problem using a player like this here is that due to his anaerobic style, his quick bursts will be followed by him walking/getting his energy back so he is likely to get you exposed on the defensive side.

That reminds me of Didier Zokora - 20 second burst of energy, followed by 20mins of doing nothing.

....and his finishing reminds me of Zokora as well, now that I think about it.

 

[Zest]

Part of me wants us to sign him, as I'd love to see if he can be utilised by Conte.

Agree, he gives a big burst of something we lack (Moura and Sessegnon, potentially, aside), but can't believe there isn't a better punt at £20-25M would like a 6ft 1 lean 400m runner physique RWB, rather than a 100m runner who is fucked after the first spell where he makes 4-5 runs.

Emerson looks like an 800m runner, lacking that sprint potential, as a furthering of the current analogy, Doherty a 400M runner, but a crappy one.

Wolveseagle as you agreed with this, think Wolves might take £10M plus £5M clauses plus Doherty for Traore?

At a lower number I'd feel much more comfortable.

 

[VirginiaSpur]

You should be honoured he is linked to a gigantic club like ours, once we pillage your shitty little tinpot club back to league one you go.

Btw your best Prem manager was our worst.

This wasn't necessary.

 

[Shotgunofmichalebrow]

This wasn't necessary.

Think it was a misplaced attempt at humour that only made him laugh. Bit embarrassing really all a bit well...Chelsea.

 

[Yiddy]

Doesn't score doesn't assist can't put in accurate crosses. Can run with the ball really well then gets to the final third and makes poor decisions. We need players that produce in the big moments and win you games.

 

[Notabadsquad]

I have no idea on Traore but I do know we have a sort of reputation for something that we don't actually deliver on.

There are few examples of players who suddenly go from what Traore appears to offer and nto the kind of player we probably require right now.

If we have a budget for 4 players, let's get him in but if we are struggling to find the pennies for 1/2, then it has to be no thank you.

 

[Wellsey]

You should be honoured he is linked to a gigantic club like ours, once we pillage your shitty little tinpot club back to league one you go.

Btw your best Prem manager was our worst.

Totally unnecessary and remember rock legend Robert Plant supports Wolves?
The sort of comment that gives us a bad name.

 

[Wolveseagle]

Wolveseagle as you agreed with this, think Wolves might take £10M plus £5M clauses plus Doherty for Traore?

At a lower number I'd feel much more comfortable.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be going near Doherty now! Had some great times at Wolves previously but we shouldn't be going back for him. 20 million plus 5 in add ons though