A terroriser of full-backs on the Molineux pitch, yet a charming, caring and hard-working spirit off it, Adama Traore has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on all of those who watched or met him, during his five seasons in old gold, which have come to an end this summer.
His signing from Middlesbrough created a buzz – with ten assists, five goals and Boro’s Player of the Season award, the Premier League beckoned for the flying winger. Newly promoted Wolves were about to take the top flight by storm and a place in the attacking department had opened up.
Nuno Espirito Santo knew what he was getting. Traore against Barry Douglas on 30th March 2018 had been the key battle of one of the most recollected evenings of a truly memorable season, and although Wolves’ in-form Scotsman did little wrong, his rival caught the eye and provided an assist as Middlesbrough headed into the play-offs, before bowing out.
A matter of months later, and Traore’s signing, revealed with an eye-catching video inside the Molineux home dressing room, was confirmed. So, the story began.
A lively cameo debut at the King Power followed ten days later, but defeat that day, sandwiched between Molineux draws, left Wolves heading to the capital desperate to chalk up a first top flight win in more than six years.
As many as 92 goalless minutes at the London Stadium had passed. It wasn’t a disaster, a point on the road is always admirable, but something was brewing. Hope, maybe without reason given the club had never scored an injury time winner in the Premier League before, but by 5pm on 1st September 2018, that was no longer the case.
A midfield duo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho did the leg work. Leo Bonatini slipped Traore in, but the finish was required at the crucial moment. As the Spaniard rolled his effort home precisely at the near post, the away end at the opposite end of the stadium lit up by the Olympic Games six years early was treated to another stunning sporting moment.
Thank you for five thrilling years, Adama 🤝 pic.twitter.com/OZcaBRWoHG
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 12, 2023
In truth, that proved the high point of a teasing debut campaign. Despite lively cameo performances, full of endeavour and effort, the wide man at times flattered to deceive, as Nuno turned to a formation without wingers, seeing Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez joining forces as a front two.
Summer came, with European football on the agenda, and the group was evolving. Wingers Ivan Cavaleiro and Helder Costa were surplus to requirements, but not Traore. His case was unique, the facets of his game were very different to his Portuguese counterparts, or any winger in world football, in truth.
A pre-season experiment utilising Traore at right-wing highlighted his mentality and determination to succeed. Never was he set to dislodge Matt Doherty, but the Spaniard’s approach showed his commitment to the group, and he would become a huge asset to Nuno for the upcoming season, which would consist of a mammoth 59 games across 383 days.
Now further integrated into Nuno’s plans, Traore played his part in the European qualification period with a trio of assists, but it was an October afternoon up the M6 which proved the watershed moment of the Spaniard’s Wolves career.
Facing the champions Manchester City, three days after a dramatic win in Istanbul, few gave Wolves a chance. Traore was at right-wing-back against Raheem Sterling and did admirably until Doherty’s introduction with 22 minutes left, when Traore moved alongside Jimenez, thus starting an almost telepathic relationship that campaign. In what was the most perfect of counter attacking performances, Jimenez twice collected the ball from deep and set Traore free. On both occasions, ice ran through the Spaniard’s veins, as he slotted past Ederson to silence any doubters he had outside of the Wolves camp.
Nuno’s group had evolved once more. Now Traore and Jimenez was his most potent partnership. The Spaniard was in the form of his life, meaning teams were taking it in turns to accept yellows for scything him down. Three Tottenham players were booked in the space of 14 minutes for chopping down their nemesis in December 2019. He still managed to score a cracker that afternoon.
Time after time Traore fed Jimenez. Against Aston Villa, AFC Bournemouth, Manchester City, it became a combination impossible to stop. The only way was brutality. Shoulder dislocations became a weekly problem for the club’s medical staff, such was the force of the opposition defending, bringing about the ingenious approach of oiling up the flying winger, to remove traction of their deliberate pull backs.
Heavily strapped up at Southampton in January 2020, with Wolves trailing 2-0, Traore flipped the game almost by himself. His control, strength, spin and return pass to Jimenez sealed a classic Wolves comeback, while his involvement in the Mexican’s trademark header against Liverpool at a bouncing Molineux provided one of the most aesthetically pleasing goals modern day Wolves have scored. That all came in a month where he was voted PFA Player of the Month. The boy had come of age.
Together, Jimenez and Traore combined 12 times that season. More than Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero together, likewise Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino. It was a relationship which had Wolves supporters itching for more as football was transformed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sadly, however, the sickening head injury to Jimenez had a knock-on effect for Traore. Their games were the perfect match. So too the atmosphere inside stadiums. The Spaniard thrived off the Molineux reaction when he skinned a full-back, when he was flying at full speed and when he’d rocketed one into the top corner.
Ever the professional however, Traore remained one of Wolves’ biggest threats. He terrorised Brighton & Hove Albion in a 3-3 draw at the Amex and almost broke the net against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, despite the lack of natural intensity supporters provide.
All together now! 😅
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 25, 2020
🎶 "Happy birthday Adama..."
🎁🎉 pic.twitter.com/JARmlpYd9o
Even if stats on the pitch dwindled slightly in season number three, the Spaniard remained an integral part of the dressing room. Supporters caught a glimpse of the personality through club channels. His yearly “fume” over FIFA Ultimate Team ratings were exceptional, particularly due to the role of aggravators from his teammates.
Traore threw himself into anything. A valuable asset to the Wolves Foundation too, providing an entertaining, or empathic character, depending on the circumstances, to take into the local community. Even when off duty, his manager may not have been best pleased, but Traore was captured racing young fans in the Sainsbury’s car park. Supporters loved Traore and there was a genuine sense that feeling was reciprocated. He wasn’t a footballer, going through the motions in a foreign city.
Far from foreign was the Spanish international scene for the 27-year-old. Traore represented four Spanish youth groups, but it was his form for Wolves which brought about a senior call up. Wolves had provided the platform and Traore had taken it. Named in Luis Enrique’s Euro 2020 squad, Traore got his minutes off the bench in a 5-0 win over Slovakia. He’d represented his country at a major international tournament as a Wolves player.
Back at Molineux, Bruno Lage was now in charge. Nuno, the man who brought him to the West Midlands, and allowed him to flourish, was consigned to the club’s history books. Often described as “special” by Lage, Traore remained in and out of the team during the latter stages of 2021, but a move felt in the offing – questions on his future became a fixture of Lage’s press conference.
A first goal of the season against Southampton at Molineux felt a parting gift and by the end of January, Traore was back at Barcelona, where it all began. His Wolves career looked done. Farewell pieces were readied. It seemed unlikely he’d pull on the famous old gold shirt again.
How wrong those assumptions were, however. The return home hadn’t proved the fairy tale ending and this time last year Traore was returning to Wolverhampton, where he had 12 months remaining on his contract.
Whether his long-term future remained at Molineux mattered not for Traore’s professionalism. During a turbulent season, where the club flirted with relegation to the Championship, the Spaniard’s head remained fixed on the job in hand, under Lage, temporarily Steve Davis and latterly Julen Lopetegui.
Wolves’ season was transformed by the introduction of their new Spanish head coach, and he was getting the best of out his talented winger. Traore transformed the performance of 10-man Wolves at Southampton, and his classic counter attack against Liverpool set up Neves for one of the campaign’s most savoured moments – a 3-0 win sealed in front of the South Bank.
Not far behind was Traore’s brilliantly taken finish against Tottenham – sealing one of a number of invaluable Molineux wins, which guided the Old Gold to safety. Even in what proved to be his final home appearance for the club, Traore produced the exact action which has earned him his next move. Picking the ball up in his own half against Everton, the Spaniard proved simply impossible for the retreating Toffees defenders to stop, before his shot led to Hee Chan Hwang tapping home. A goal all in the making of Traore.
It was a fitting parting gift. A move almost iconic to Wolves over the past five seasons. On and off the pitch, Traore took to Wolves, and likewise Wolves to him. Now is the time for both to part ways, but they do so with the Spaniard etched into some of the greatest days in the club’s recent history.
