How Adama Traore quit Barcelona under a cloud after four games in 11 YEARS.. and why they’re desperate to get him back
IT would be very easy for Adama Traore to feel like he has unfinished business at Barcelona.
Five years on from leaving the Catalan giants for the Premier League, the Spaniard's stunning form for Wolves has seen him linked with a sensational big-money return to his boyhood club.
Born in nearby L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, the 24-year-old spent his formative years at La Masia after being spotted as a particularly gifted eight-year-old playing for his local side in 2004.
The prodigious speedster steadily progressed through the ranks at the club's fabled academy, with excitement steadily growing behind the scenes as he edged closer to the first-team picture.
And that senior breakthrough eventually came when, as a skinny 17-year-old nearly unrecognisable from the incredible bulky figure he has become, he came on for the final seven minutes of a 4-0 La Liga win over Granada at the Camp Nou.
Things appeared to be going in the right direction when just three days later manager Gerardo Martino again turned to him, this time bringing him on against Ajax in the Champions League.
Barcelona lost the match 2-1, but things were looking seemingly looking up for the young Adama, he was involved, he was a first-team player.
Except he wasn't.
After remaining an unused substitute in the next game against Athletic Bilbao, Traore failed to make another first-team matchday squad for the remainder of the season.
After playing exclusively for Barcelona B, and doing well, the summer came around and things swiftly changed at the club.
I didn't leave in the best way but I took the decision to leave and I don't regret it".
Adama Traore
Martino was replaced by Luis Enrique and Luis Suarez was signed from Liverpool.
Things, however, did not change for Adama.
The 2014-15 season began and he was completely overlooked by the first team. He played brilliantly for the B squad that year, proving his creativity with 14 assists in LaLiga2.
His first team involvement was limited to just two outings in the Copa del Rey, one of which he even scored in, but while Barcelona won the Champions League in June that year, Adama's mind was made up.
He was going to leave.
Traore was unable to get a look in with Lionel Messi, Neymar, Suarez and Pedro around - but the circumstances involving his departure are murky to say the least.
Speaking recently to Spanish radio station Cadena SER about his departure, he said: "There were a few problems with the club - some misunderstandings and so I decided to leave because I wanted to develop as a player.
"I'd rather not go into what happened with me and the club. I didn't leave in the best way but I took the decision to leave and I don't regret it".
But Tim Sherwood needed to win. He didn't have time to worry about a player coming from the second division in Spain, the only objective for him was needing to win because the team wasn't doing well.
Adama Traore
His next stop was Aston Villa, but things didn't quite go to plan after his £9million move.
After appearing sporadically under Tim Sherwood and then Remi Garde, a January metatarsal injury dented his season - only being able to make one more appearance for the doomed Villans.
On his time at Villa Park, Traore told Mundo Deportivo: "Tim Sherwood wasn't winning but it was difficult for me because I came from the second division in Spain and I needed a little time in the Premier League to see what the league was like and to adapt to the different tactics and the style of play.
"But Tim Sherwood needed to win. He didn't have time to worry about a player coming from the second division in Spain, the only objective for him was needing to win because the team wasn't doing well.
“He didn't get time to think that this player needs time so you can explain about the Premier League and the different tactics."
Despite his lack of impact newly-promoted Middlesbrough, managed by former Real Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka, saw enough to take a £7million punt on him.
Again Premier League consistency eluded him. After suffering another relegation, Traore this time stayed put for a year in the Championship.
And it proved to be the making of him.
He’d make a mistake and look across to see if you were shouting at him. He was like a cowered cat who had been smacked too many times. We had to get that out of him.
Tony Pulis
In Tony Pulis, he found an unlikely ally a far-cry from that La Masia education, and his form and confidence subsequently skyrocketed.
Notching five goals and ten assists, Traore terrorised Championship defences under the Welshman's tutelage.
And Pulis himself recently told The Athletic: "He's a lovely lad.
"Great standards and values. Not big time at all. He just lacked a little bit of self-belief and a little bit of belief in people who were in charge of him.
"He’d make a mistake and look across to see if you were shouting at him. He was like a cowered cat who had been smacked too many times. We had to get that out of him."
An £18million move to Wolves followed and this time he finally had the tools to succeed in England's top-flight.
Boss Nuno was patient with him, mainly using him from the bench in his first season.
But after a year of coaching, Traore came back for this campaign looking like a man possessed.
For so long having taken criticism for his final product, he announced his improvement with a stunning brace at the Etihad against champions Manchester City.
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Now one of the most feared wingers in the Premier League, opposition defences now consistently have to make special provisions to try and cope with his pace and trickery.
A host of big clubs are now keen, with Wolves privately believing that they could receive in excess of the £89.3million British transfer record that Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba, if they were to sell to a league rival.
Real Madrid are also said to be keen, but perhaps it could be time for Adama to return to Catalonia and fulfil the promise that coaches first saw in him as an eight-year-old in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat...
