Middlesbrough successfully negotiated a deal for the transfer of Aston Villa winger Adama Traore while Albert Adomah made a move in the other direction. Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka has been a busy man throughout the summer with the club securing the transfers for no less than 10 players already and Traore will be the eleventh man in at the Riverside stadium in the current transfer window. Karanka has now ensured that he will have a pretty big squad at his disposal having quality in key areas. With the transfer of Calum Chambers from Arsenal on a loan deal a few days back, it seemed like it would be the end of business in the summer but a deadline day deal for the Villa winger makes things much more interesting now.
Traore has already got excellent pedigree with the recognition of being a player graduating from the Barcelona youth academy which he joined in 2004. After nine years he was promoted to the Barcelona B team and made 63 appearances for them scoring 8 goals. In 2013, he made his La Liga debut aged 17 when he came on as a late substitute for Neymar against Granada CF. In that same year, he participated in the inaugural UEFA Youth League with Barcelona under-19 squad and won the tournament featuring five times and scoring two goals.
In 2015, he made a surprising move to join Aston Villa for a fee of £7 m but it proved to be a nightmare as the player was not handed a single start despite making an instant impact with an assist in his debut against Crystal Palace where he came on as a substitute. Adama made a total of 10 appearances for the Villains all of them from the bench and spent a total of 184 minutes on the pitch as Villa faltered shockingly and got relegated into the Championship.
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Despite his nightmare spell at Villa Park, where he according to his stats would be branded as a flop it wasn’t surprising that another Premier League team in Middlesbrough has shown interest in him. The winger has great pace and physical attributes which would fit the counter-attacking strategy of Karanka perfectly. The manager knows the player all too well from his younger days and would be managing him far better than how it was done at Villa for sure.
At only 20 years of age currently, the winger is a top prospect and if the Boro boss can get the most out of him then he will definitely be one of the key performers for his side. The winger has penned a four-year contract at the Riverside Stadium and the manager’s comments are an indication of how he intends to utilize the player.
Speaking after the transfer Karanka said, “He is another important player and I am expecting a lot from him. I’ve known him since he was a kid. He went into the national team just after I left, but I know all about him and what he can do. His level is higher than he showed last season, but in the right environment I’m hoping that he will show what he is capable of.” Boro fans can get excited about their new signing as it seems like they have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks.
