Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett has been discussing Wolves winger Adama Traore and his current season with the Midlands club so far.
This comes after Dorsett recently made an appearance on the latest episode of The Sky Sports Football Podcast where he spoke about a number of topics concerning Nuno Espirito Santo’s side ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
On the subject of Traore, Dorsett had this to say about the Spaniard.
He said: “I spoke to Tony Pulis – the manager who really brought him through and gave him his first opportunities to play – and he described him as an enigma, he’d never had a player like him before, a player with that ‘X Factor’; and not just his speed and his strength, his skill and his ability, but he said he’s a player who plays very much with confidence, he relies on confidence, he needs an arm around the shoulder and he needs a regular run of games.
“And because his form hasn’t been great, he hasn’t had that regular run of games. He’s been used as a substitute a lot by Nuno this season and he looks down on his confidence.
“His runs, where he was beating three or four players last season and then bursting clear of the backline, the ball is getting bobbled around under his feet and he’s losing control of it, or I think other teams have got a little bit wise to him as well and that doubling up on him as well.
“It’s been difficult for him, and he’s not had the impact that he had last season, that’s plain and simple.”
Wolves signed Traore back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Championship side Middlesbrough for a fee of £18 million.
Since then, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £36 million, has made 120 appearances for Wolves across all competitions in which he has managed to score eight goals and provide 16 assists along the way (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Rob Dorsett’s comments on Traore…
Taking into account that Traore has yet to register a goal or an assist for Wolves in the Premier League so far this season, it’s understandable why Dorsett thinks his confidence is down at the minute.
However, with the winger managing to earn himself a solid season rating of 7.07/10 for his performances in the league for Wolves so far this season, making him their second-highest-rated player, this suggests that he has still been a significant player for them in this campaign, despite not being particularly potent in front of goal.
Do you think Traore should start against Villa?
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Moving forward, if Traore managed to score a goal or provide an assist in Wolves’ upcoming game against Villa, this could potentially give him the confidence boost Dorsett believes he needs.