Chelsea have identified Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore as one of the alternative targets to Inter Milan star Achraf Hakimi.
Achraf Hakimi, 22, enjoyed a wonderful campaign with Inter Milan, helping the club win the Serie A title to end Juventus’ decade-long dominance. The right wing-back registered seven goals and 11 assists in 45 games across all competitions to establish himself as one of Serie A’s best players in the 2020/21 season.
Hakimi’s displays have caught the eye of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. However, Inter Milan want £70million to sell the Moroccan international, who only joined them last summer from Real Madrid for £34m.
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain remain in a stiff fight but the latter appears to have offered £70million up front in cash to Inter for the 22-year-old wing-back. This option is appealing to the Milan-based outfit, as the Parisians aim to close the deal for Hakimi.
As Chelsea look set to miss out on Hakimi, Thomas Tuchel wants Wolves’ Adama Traore as a potential alternative. Traore, 25, struggled to make an impact at Wolves this past campaign, notching up two goals and as many assists in 37 Premier League games.
The 25-year-old, who is in Spain’s squad for Euro 2020, has a contract at Molineux until 2023, and while his representatives started renewal talks with Wolves months ago, an agreement hasn’t been reached. Alongside Chelsea, Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United are also understood to be keen on Traore’s signature.
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Chelsea determined to bolster their squad during the ongoing transfer window
Chelsea are keen to use the summer transfer window to bolster their squad ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign.
Under the tutelage of Thomas Tuchel, the Blues have shown a lot of promise and are expected to mount a title challenge, provided they get the players the German tactician wants at his disposal.
Tuchel, having won the coveted Champions League trophy last month, will also want to ensure he keeps the core of his squad intact to challenge on all fronts next term.
Thomas Tuchel eyeing defensive reinforcements
Tuchel’s 3-4-3/3-5-2 system worked wonders at Chelsea last campaign. At the back, defenders such as Antonio Rudiger, Reece James, and Cesar Azpilicueta were impressive, as Chelsea became very difficult to break down.
Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta did well on the right-hand side of the defence, meaning Tuchel doesn’t have immediate problems in that area of the pitch. However, Tuchel views James more as a central defender in a back three rather than a wing-back or full-back. Also, with Azpilicueta not getting any younger, signing a wing-back makes sense for the Pensioners.
Is Adama Traore the right fit at Stamford Bridge?
Adama Traore is not a wing-back but he has played that position on many occasions at Wolves under former manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Blessed with pace, power, and physicality, the 25-year-old is a difficult player to stop when on full tilt. He possesses blistering speed and knows how to beat players with relative ease. While his end product still remains hit and miss, Traore could improve that aspect of his game under the guidance of Tuchel at Chelsea.
The former Barcelona academy graduate would give another dimension to the Chelsea attack, whilst improving Tuchel’s options at the wing-back position. At the age of 25, Traore still has a long way to go in his career and his set of qualities could make him an asset to Tuchel.
That being said, the Wolves star would be a brilliant capture for Chelsea.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
