Wolverhampton Wanderers have submitted a bid for a Ligue 2 midfielder as Bruno Lage looks to add more quality to his squad.

What’s the news?

That’s according to Foot365, who claim that Wolves have submitted a bid of €10m (£8m) for midfielder Boubacar Traore from Metz.

Newcastle United were keen on adding the player to their squad this summer, but it looks like the Old Gold have won the race to sign the promising 21-year-old and bring him to the Premier League.

With Traore’s contract expiring in 2024, Wolves have made the move at the right time to sign the player for a lower fee than anticipated.

He could be Lage’s own Bissouma

Wolves had a quiet start to the transfer window, adding only Nathan Collins to their squad by the start of August while making Hee-chan Hwang’s loan move permanent. However, the last few weeks have seen an increase in activity, with Lage signing Matheus Nunes and Goncalo Guedes to add some much-needed spark to his team.

Given the news surrounding Traore, it looks like another solid addition could be coming in at Molineux, and after their poor start to the season, the Old Gold need all the positives they can get.

Lage looks like he is about to unearth his own Yves Bissouma, with the two comparable via FBRef’s similar player model.

Last season, they each scored once while Traore added a further assist, with the then-Brighton midfielder setting up two goals, both proving that they can chip in with goal contributions from the middle of the park.

In terms of defensive actions, the duo offer excellent protection to the back four. Traore won 40 tackles, made 561 pressures and won 65.5% of his aerial duels in 2021/22 compared to 50 tackles won, 415 pressures and 55.3% aerials won for Bissouma.

At just 21 years of age, Traore already had better returns in important performance indicators than Bissouma last season, and with his fellow countryman sealing a £35m move to Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the transfer window, the Metz ace could follow in his compatriot's footsteps by being on the move.

With his manager Frederic Antonetti saying that the youngster has been “exploding”, it seems clear that Lage could land himself a bargain by signing the player.

If Traore becomes anything like Bissouma during his time at Wolves, the Midlands club could look forward to turning a massive profit on the Malian, should he sign for the mooted £8m fee and fetch a similar figure to his compatriot upon being sold further down the line.