OPINION
Wolves must follow up their interest in Middlesbrough forward Adama Traore by blowing away rivals to land him this summer.
The newly-promoted club have made some ambitious moves in the transfer market in the last two years and a few more, including a club-record bid for Manchester City ace Oleksandr Zinchenko, are in the works.
The Times report today the Molineux outfit have now turned their attention to signing Traore, who the Telegraph claimed last week has an £18million release clause in his Boro contract.
Is Traore the answer to Wolves’ need for greater attacking thrust?
Definitely. Wolves have some decent attackers in their ranks, with new signing Raul Jimenez joining the likes of Leo Bonatini, Diogo Jota, Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro.
They are fine players all, with Jota such a classy operator he could make a big impact in the Premier League after converting his initial loan into a permanent deal.
Traore is a different type of player. Super quick and direct, he puts defenders on the back foot with turbo-charged bursts of acceleration.
Those who recall the exciting but raw talent who first arrived in England at Aston Villa might dismiss his potential to make a big impact in the English flight on a consistent basis.
But the rough edges have been smoothed from the Spaniard’s game in the last 12 months and his decision-making has improved, particularly since Tony Pulis took over at Middlesbrough last December.
All five of Traore’s goals in 2017-18 and nine of his 12 assists came after Pulis took the reins at the Riverside Stadium on Boxing Day.
He looked almost unstoppable at times in the final months of last season.
Due to the release clause in his deal, the door is ajar for Wolves to seal their best attacking signing in years.