Why the time is right for Adama Traore's Liverpool move
James Shearman
- 28 Jul 2021 10:03 CDT
- 4 min read
Liverpool are keen on signing Wolves' Adama Traore this summer in a cut-price £30million deal.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has long been an admirer of the winger, and this transfer window could present the best opportunity to date for him to land the Spain international.
Traore would provide Klopp an option that he's never had in his Anfield tenure - an out-and-out winger.
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An extremely quick player that looks to get to the byline rather than to cut inside would be a different, and rewarding asset to have particularly in the closing minutes of games.
And at 25 years of age, it's time he worked under an elite coach that could help him to reach his untapped potential.
Traore asking price to fall?
Wolves remain confident of keeping hold of Traore, but their resolve may be tested in weeks to come.
They had previously put a price tag of £60m on the ex-Barcelona player, when Liverpool came knocking last summer, but it is thought that the asking price could now be as little as half of that sum.
The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been well-documented and will affect the transfer dealings of all of England's non-'top six' clubs.
So while Wolves won't admit to wanting less for one of their players than last year, that will certainly be the case.
Liverpool are poised to make a cut-price £30million move for Adama Traore. Jurgen Klopp is said to be a big fan of the Wolves winger but he can expect stiff resistance when bargaining with Wolves [Daily Star] pic.twitter.com/bbsxflhFBL
— Anfield Agenda (@AnfieldAgenda) July 27, 2021
That said, there are multiple footballing reasons as to why Traore could be offloaded for around £30m.
First, the winger has always struggled with his end product, but the 2020/21 season proved to be more challenging in that regard than any other season in his career.
Albeit disrupted by a dislocated shoulder, Traore registered just two goals in the last campaign.
Add to that, former boss Nuno Espirito Santo has departed for Tottenham, with Bruno Lage announced as the new manager last month.
It is unknown whether Traore is a key part of Lage's plans, as he was under Santo in the past three seasons.
Liverpool to face competition?
It appears Liverpool's biggest obstacle to overcome in the race to sign Traore could be the threat of other teams.
Spurs boss Santo could try to bring his former favourite to North London as the club undergoes somewhat of a rebuild, with the likes of Toby Aldeweireld, Erik Lamela and Moussa Sissoko shown the exit door.
Chelsea are also said to be interested in the speedy wide man, which could see him deployed on the right side of a 3-4-3 formation, in a similar way to how Callum Hudson-Odoi has been used on occasion.
Liverpool remain favourites to sign the Spaniard, who would represent another option in the final third alongside Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
