The Liverpool fans would not easily forget the scare that Wolves gave them when they travelled to the Molineux in January, although the Merseyside club escaped with a 2-1 win. Much of that could be credited to the performance of Adama Traore, who transformed into an absolute beast that night.
This season there has been news that the Kops are eyeing the Wolves player to bolster their attacking unit as Klopp looks to maintain their high standard next season. However, ex-Wolves man John Richards now states that he does not expect other clubs to offer big money to Nuno Espírito Santo’s side for their star man, or for any other players for that matter.
In an interview with Express And Star, he has said, “I think any interest from elsewhere will be luke-warm as even the teams who could afford those key players are going to be tentative over their spending.”
Adama Traore and his exploits
Traore joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2018, and it is fair to say that he had struggled to find a place in the team initially. Nuno had tried him in several positions, often playing him as a right wing-back. He was also deployed as a centre-forward and on the left side of the midfield, albeit unsuccessfully. However, eventually, Nuno moved him to the right side of the front three, and that is where Traore made a mark.
The first thing that one would notice about Traore is his immense physicality. The Spaniard is an absolute physical specimen, using his strength to overpower the opposition defenders. The other forte of the forward is his blistering pace and his affinity to move into the opposition boxes.
The evolution of Traore
After shifting to his preferred position, the ex-Barcelona man has contributed four goals and seven assists in 28 league games this season. The other aspect that easily comes to one’s notice is the fact that he has made 1.1 tackles per game in the Premier League this term, making him an absolute menace to the opposition.
As it happens with most players who tend to use their core strength and dribbling skills to get past defenders, Traore also gets fouled very often (2.3 times per 90 minutes this season). That certainly increases the chance of his team being in advantageous positions from dead-ball situations, making the opposition defenders vulnerable at the same time.
His position at Liverpool
The main question that would haunt Klopp is whether he would be able to integrate the maverick forward week in week out in the squad or whether he would be made to wait on the bench for the time being. As has been stated earlier, Traore has failed to perform at his current level in other positions apart from the right side of the forward line, the exact same place where Salah operates.
Thus, it is needless to say that he would not be able to replace either Mane or Firmino in times of need and the manager would have to move the Egyptian at other places to include Traore in the side. This is where the complication would lie as Klopp would be reluctant to shift one of his front three to make way for a youngster and our guess is that would make Traore’s transfer to the Anfield side a troublesome affair.
Stats from Whoscored.
