Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Bruno Lage has revealed that they will only sell Adama Traore if the right offer is made this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur had tried to sign Traore back in January (The Express), but he eventually moved to Barcelona on a loan.  The Catalan giants opted against activating the £29million optional clause in the agreement, which has seen the winger return to Molineux.

Traore has been tipped toto depart Wolves this summer, with his current contract set to expire at the end of the campaign. West Ham United and Everton have been touted to be potential destinations for the Spanish international, although Lage has admitted that he is happy to keep hold of the winger.

Lage has sent a message to the interested parties that his side will not be forced into accepting any offers for Traore just because of his current contract situation. The Portuguese coach is adamant that Wolves would only entertain proposals which financially meet their expectations.

Lage told The Independent: “I want to keep these players because they are special players and they give me different solutions. With five subs, everyone needs to feel important and involved because you’re going to have more space for everyone.”

“But in the end, we need to understand there is a price for every player and if the price comes in and is good for the player and good for the club, then it’s ok, we need to accept. But at the moment they are our players and for them to go, the other teams need to pay the money we think we need to buy two players because they are very important.”

Our View

It was stated quite a while back that Spurs would probably reignite their interest in signing Traore this summer. Antonio Conte is said to have wanted to convert the 26-year-old to a right wing-back back in January, which made a potential move a likely outcome in this window.

However, we have signed Djed Spence from Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £20million (The Guardian) while also having Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal in the squad. With three options on the right-hand side of the defence, it is difficult to see us going after Traore even if Fabio Paratici rates the attacker highly (Ryan Taylor, GIVEMESPORT).

Traore could also be an option in the attack, but we are well covered in the right-wing as well with options like Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Moura. As such, it is difficult to see the Wolves ace become a target for us which seems to be the case as it is claimed that we have “little interest” in him right now.

Perhaps we could decide to pursue Traore should he stay with Lage’s team and become a free agent next summer. Lucas Moura will see his contract expire by then, although we have the option to extend it by another season. However, the Brazilian did say that his current plan is to fulfil his current deal and choose the next step at that point (Andre Hernan).

So if Moura decides to leave N17 after this campaign, Traore would be a solid option to provide backup to Kulusevski in the future. Whether that will happen or not, though, remains to be seen.