Adama Traoré (footballer, born 1996)

Adama Traoré Diarra (born 25 January 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Spain national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Traoré and the second or maternal family name is Diarra.
Adama Traoré
Traoré playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020
Personal information
Full name Adama Traoré Diarra[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-25) 25 January 1996[2]
Place of birth L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number 37
Youth career
Hospitalet
2004–2013 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Barcelona B 63 (8)
2013–2015 Barcelona 1 (0)
2015–2016 Aston Villa 11 (0)
2016–2018 Middlesbrough 61 (5)
2018– Wolverhampton Wanderers 88 (5)
National team‡
2012 Spain U16 5 (0)
2012–2013 Spain U17 5 (1)
2013–2014 Spain U19 6 (0)
2018 Spain U21 2 (0)
2020– Spain 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2020

Traoré began his career with Barcelona, appearing mainly for the reserves. In 2015 he signed for Aston Villa and a year later Middlesbrough, before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2018.

Born in Spain to parents from Mali, Traoré has represented his native country internationally at both youth and senior levels, making his senior debut for Spain in 2020.

Club career

Barcelona
Traoré playing for Barcelona B in 2012

Traoré was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, to Malian parents.[4] He joined Barcelona's youth setup in 2004 at the age of eight, after a brief period with neighbouring CE L'Hospitalet.[5] In 2013 he was promoted to the B-team, and made his debut on 6 October in a 1–0 away defeat against SD Ponferradina for the Segunda División championship.[6]

On 9 November 2013, Traoré came on as a half-time substitute but was sent off for conceding a penalty in a 0–3 loss to Real Jaén at the Mini Estadi.[7] Two weeks later, he played his first La Liga game at the age of only 17, replacing Neymar late on in the 4–0 home win over Granada CF;[8] he made his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League on 26 November, coming on for Cesc Fàbregas in the 82nd minute of a 1–2 defeat away to AFC Ajax in the group stage.[9]

Traoré also featured for Barcelona's under-19 side in the inaugural edition of the UEFA Youth League, playing five times and netting twice as they won the trophy.[10] He scored his first goal for the Blaugrana's main squad on 16 December 2014, playing 16 minutes and contributing to an 8–1 home demolition of SD Huesca in the Copa del Rey.[11]

Aston Villa

On 14 August 2015, Traoré joined Premier League club Aston Villa on a five-year deal for a reported £7 million (€10 million) that could rise to €12 million, with Barcelona inserting a three-year buy-back clause in his contract.[12] He made his debut eight days later against Crystal Palace, and his cross led to an own goal from Pape Souaré eight minutes after he had entered the game as a substitute for Carlos Sánchez.[13] He scored his first goal three days later, the team's first of a 5–3 home win over Notts County in the second round in the League Cup.[14]

Traoré came on as a second-half substitute for the last-placed Villans away to relegation rivals Sunderland on 2 January 2016, and via a counter-attack he assisted compatriot Carles Gil's aerial volley equaliser – he was later replaced himself through injury, as his team lost 3–1.[15] Following that game, he was dropped from the team due to indiscipline,[16] as the season ended with relegation.

Middlesbrough

On 31 August 2016, Traoré signed a four-year contract with Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee and Albert Adomah moved in the opposite direction.[17] He made his debut on 10 September 2016 in a 1–2 home loss to Crystal Palace, replacing Cristhian Stuani for the final nine minutes;[18] during his first season, he took part in 31 matches without scoring.[19]

Traoré played during 2017–18, first under Garry Monk and then Tony Pulis, with his pace sometimes causing several problems for opposition defenders, including an impressive performance against Leeds United on 2 March 2018 in a 3–0 win.[20] He totalled five goals and ten assists during the campaign as his team reached the play-offs in the Championship,[21] where they were knocked out by his former side Aston Villa;[22] consequently, he won Middlesbrough's Fans' Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards.[23]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 8 August 2018, Traoré joined newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee[24] in the region of £18 million.[25] He scored his first goal for the team and in the Premier League on 1 September – in his 40th appearance in the competition – in a 1–0 win away to West Ham United.[26] His first start occurred on 27 October, in a 0–1 away defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.[27]

On 6 October 2019, in his 50th competitive appearance for Wolves, Traoré scored both goals in a 2–0 away victory against reigning champions Manchester City.[28] He scored his first goal in UEFA European club football as Wolves drew 3–3 away to Braga in the UEFA Europa League group stage on 28 November.[29]

Traoré scored his debut Molineux goal for his club in a 1–2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on 15 December 2019.[30] He won the PFA Player of the Month award for January 2020 with 45 percent of fan votes.[31]

Traoré's first goal for Wolves in the 2020–21 season came in their 1–0 home victory over Crystal Palace in a FA Cup third round game on 8 January 2021.[32]

International career

On 17 February 2014, the Malian Football Federation reported that Traoré and his older brother Moha had decided to represent Mali at senior level.[33] However, in an interview with BBC Sport in October 2015, the former stated that he was still considering his international options.[34] He made his debut for the Spanish under-21s on 22 March 2018, playing 15 minutes in the 5–3 away win over Northern Ireland for the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.[35]

In November 2019, Traoré declared that he wanted to play for Mali. However, days later he received his first call-up to the Spanish national team for Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Malta and Romania in place of injured Rodrigo.[36] He pulled out of the squad himself due to injury, and was replaced by Pablo Sarabia.[37]

In January 2020, he said he had not decided between Spain and Mali after a photograph of him posing with a Mali shirt circulated online, saying "I am grateful (to have the chance) with the two international teams - Spain where I was born and Mali where my origins are."[38]

In August 2020, Traoré was again called up ahead of Spain's September UEFA Nations League matches against Germany and Ukraine.[39] However, he was removed from the squad after testing positive for COVID-19 on 31 August.[40] He missed the Germany match as he awaited the result of the second test to determine if the initial result was a false positive. The second test result was negative and Traoré rejoined the squad on 3 September, ahead of the Ukraine match.[41] On 6 September, Traoré was once again ordered to leave the camp after a PCR test showed a high antibody count.[42]

On 7 October 2020, Traoré made his first appearance for Spain in a friendly match against Portugal, coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute. The match ended in a scoreless draw.[43] On 10 October, Traoré again came on as a substitute for Spain in a Nations League match against Switzerland.[44] Both Mali and Spain had named Traoré to their respective squads for their matches during the October international fixture window,[45] but with his appearance in a competitive match against Switzerland, he is cap-tied to Spain and FIFA eligibility rules prevents him from representing Mali.[46]

Style of play

Tim Sherwood, Traoré's manager at Villa, compared him to both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying he had "a bit" of both. Catherine Wilson of ESPN FC credited his "athleticism", though also remarked that his "footballing brain and teamwork skills are definitely up for debate".[47]

In 2018, ESPN's Matt Stanger acknowledged Traoré's pace and strength, and added that he "is now showing the composure to find the killer pass", while boasting "rapid acceleration" and "excellent close control to shield the ball from defenders"; Stanger also believed Traoré's "defensive contribution" to be developed, pointing his key weaknesses as "moments of recklessness" and "decision-making" which "continues to frustrate his teammates";[48] he was also described by Teesside Gazette's Philip Tallentire as a 'talismanic playmaker', after his form during the 2017–18 season.[23] The Daily Mirror listed Traoré second in the top 10 fastest players of the 2019–20 Premier League Season, with a top speed of 23.48mph.[49]

While with Wolverhampton Wanderers, after his first three appearances as a substitute, Michael Butler of The Guardian reported: "Traoré has always been regarded as a rough diamond, lightning quick but perhaps lacking composure or an end product. [...] Per 90 minutes, nobody in the Premier League has created more chances than the 22-year-old or completed even half the number of successful dribbles: Eden Hazard has 5.56 to Traoré's 11.87.[50]

Personal life

Traoré's elder brother, Moha, is also a footballer.[51]

Career statistics
As of match played 7 February 2021[52]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona B 2013–14 Segunda División 265————265
2014–15 373————373
Total 638————638
Barcelona 2013–14 La Liga 1000—1[lower-alpha 3]00020
2014–15 0021—00—21
Total 1021—100041
Aston Villa 2015–16 Premier League 1000011——111
2016–17 Championship 100000——10
Total 1100011——121
Middlesbrough 2016–17 Premier League 2704000——310
2017–18 Championship 3452020—2[lower-alpha 4]0405
Total 6156020—20715
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2018–19 Premier League 2915020——361
2019–20 374200015[lower-alpha 5]2—546
2020–21 2202110——251
Total 8859130152—1158
Career total 22418172611622026523
  1. Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs
  5. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International
As of 13 October 2020[53]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 202030
Total30

Honours

Barcelona Youth

Barcelona

Individual

References
  1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. "Adama Traore". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  3. "Adama Traoré: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. Gabilondo, Aritz (24 February 2012). "Mis padres llegaron de Mali en los 80. Yo soy de Barcelona..." [My parents arrived from Mali in the 80s. I am from Barcelona...]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  5. Capdevila, Josep (4 April 2013). "Adama Traore, juvenil de primer año, puede ser la gran novedad del Barça B el sábado" [Adama Traore, first-year juvenil, may be Barça B surprise Saturday]. Sport (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  6. "Ponferradina – Barça B: Un penalti condena al filial (1–0)" [Ponferradina – Barça B: Penalty condemns reserves (1–0)] (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  7. "FC Barcelona B v Real Jaén: Bad luck in front of goal (0–3)". FC Barcelona. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  8. "Granada pay the penalty". ESPN FC. 23 November 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  9. "Ajax claim Barcelona scalp to stay in contention". UEFA. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
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  11. Egea, Pablo (16 December 2014). "Los suplentes culés también cuentan" [The culé backups also count]. Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  12. "Adama Traore: Barcelona winger joins Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  13. Emons, Michael (22 August 2015). "Crystal Palace 2–1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  14. "Aston Villa 5–3 Notts County". BBC Sport. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  15. Young, Chris (2 January 2016). "Sunderland 3 Aston Villa 1: Jermain Defoe double secures priceless win". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  16. Evans, Gregg (8 April 2016). "Will Adama Traore start for Aston Villa? Here's what Eric Black has to say on the matter". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
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