Adama Traore’s name has been discussed in plenty of circles by Wolves supporters this summer.
One of those who initially deemed to be expendable, he could have left Molineux behind long before the Premier League’s opening weekend.
Wolves have found spending limited over recent months and with the Old Gold needing to rake in some more cash, it appeared as though he was going to be allowed to leave.
Instead, Traore has stayed in the Midlands and won’t leave unless a meteoric bid is submitted for his services. The longer the window goes on, however, the less feasible that becomes.
As Bruno Lage slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Leicester in his first competitive match in charge, his barnstorming winger positively and negatively stole the show.
Raul Jimenez was making his first league outing since that dreaded clash of heads with David Luiz last November but it wasn’t the Mexican making the headlines on Saturday; it was Traore.
This was the most classic example of a performance you’ll find from the 25-year-old. He ran the Leicester defence ragged but after doing all of the hard work, ultimately faltered.
Traore missed Wolves’ biggest chance of the game, going free on goal but then rolling an effort past the post when one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel.
It was a moment in the game that proved decisive. If they scored then Lage would have been walking away with a point from his opening Midlands derby.
The manager wasn’t pleased with that moment and took his Spanish forward to task at full-time; “Adama has his abilities but he needs to improve other things for sure, the shooting. If he scores those chances it wouldn’t be at Wolves, it would be in a top team. We will work together to improve that skill,” he remarked.
That said, Traore’s all-around play was crucial in the match. He was a driving force and enabled Wolves to play further up the pitch in the offensive half.
The former Barcelona man is known for his dribbling and in this match, he recorded incredibly high numbers. He produced 11 successful take-ons during the 90 minutes and used his immense physical powers to reign supreme in battles with the defenders.
Dubbed "magnificent" for his display by Tim Spiers, the £46k-per-week speedster took part in a whopping 22 defensive battles too, winning an impressive 16 of them.
It’s evident that Traore is one of the most exciting players in the division but Lage is correct; in order for him to steal the show from a positive point of view more often, he must improve his end product.