Written by: Moses Onyilo Adikwu
Wolverhampton Wanderers star, Adama Traore has been a subject of transfer speculations over the past couple of weeks. The former Spain U-21 international has been strongly linked with moves to Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Whether or not a concrete offer has been tabled by any of these clubs, it is still yet to be confirmed by Wolves who would only let a very integral member of their team leave for a very good offer.
Adama Traore has caught the eye for Wolverhampton Wanderers since he arrived at the Molineux in 2018, same year the West Midlands side gained promotion to the English top flight and the Spanish winger has been instrumental to the top form his team has maintained in the EPL since then.
Adama Traore has without any doubt been a key figure for a Wolves side which secured a Europa league spot just after their first season back at the Elite division of English football.
The form which the team enjoyed in the 2018/2019 season isn’t a charade as with the help of key players like Adama Traore, Raul Gonzalez and co, they’ve been able to replicate that same form in the 2019/2020 season and the double over Manchester City is just a highlight of how good the team is and their performances have further shown that the team has got players who could create serious problems for high profile oppositions. In fact, Adama Traore was the mastermind of that victory at the Etihad in October 2019, a victory which was precursor to them doing the double over Manchester City in December. The Spaniard’s brace was enough to give Wolves a 2-0 victory over the defending champions at the Etihad.
Just like in other matches, Adama Traore’s speed, strength and skill were on hand for his team on the day little wonder he’s got an array of admirers majorly consisting of the EPL big guns, Man City inclusive.
Apart from Man City, Liverpool and Man Utd have been strongly linked with the former Barcelona player, but which of these teams suits him more?
The 24 year old is known for his pace and unmatchable strength coupled with the ability to take on his marker at ease, a skill set that is requisite to the counter attacking system adopted by most English clubs.
However, there are few teams in the EPL that have chosen to model their game in a slightly different way, with teams like Chelsea and Man City tending towards the very less conservative approach of possession based football not forgetting Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool who prioritize the high press system.
Having said that, it is quite difficult to picture a player like Adama Traore in either the Liverpool setup or the Manchester City setup, this on one hand is due to the tactical system of both teams and on the other hand, both teams already have talents which are more suitable and are masters of both teams’ respective style of play compared to Adama Traore. Adama displacing any of Liverpool’s front three isn’t feasible, same applies to Man City.
Among the traditional English top six, one team has been more conservative than the likes of Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool when it comes to style of play in recent times and that team is Manchester United, with Ole Gunnaar Solksjaer preferring to play on the break most especially when he faces the big guns.
How would Adama Traore fit into Ole’s Man United team?
Tactical setup:
The Manchester United manager has most times gone with a 4-5-1 formation in games and a 3-5-2 formation when facing the top teams and this is a system that very much suits Adama Traore.
The Wolves winger who is mostly deployed at the right flank can also operate as a wingback in a 3-5-2 formation as we’ve seen him do for his current team most especially during the 2018/19 season.
As we’ve seen in big games, Ole Gunnaar Solksjaer has preferred to adopt a more conservative tactical approach, the Norwegian tactician has usually opted for a 3-5-2 formation with Maguire, Lindelof, and Shaw making up the back three with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Williams being deployed at the wingback positions to provide width and in most cases, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford partner as the team’s front two. This is a system that has helped Manchester United do the double over both Manchester City and Chelsea.
Ole Gunnaar Solksjaer seems to have excelled in his conservative approach against the rival clubs but one could still ask for more given the fact that with better personnel in different positions, more flair could be added to the team’s style of play and they could even do more damage to top oppositions.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka who is one of the best right fullbacks in the EPL has been regularly deployed at wingback anytime Man Utd go against top opposition, a role which the Englishman has put in very good shifts defensively but his contribution at the other end of the pitch isn’t as impressive. Though he was able to get an assist against Chelsea in February, the 22 year old doesn’t provide such on a consistent and regular basis.
The fullback has managed just two assists in 26 appearances for the Red devils and his expected assists is at 2.4 and per 90 minutes, his expected assists stand at 0.9
His stats show how less effective he is when going forward and this is why signing Adama Traore would be of importance to the Red Devils, that is, if they’d want to continue relying on the 3-5-2 system to win big games. When it comes to creating chances, the La Masia graduate’s expected assists for Wolverhampton Wanders stands at 5.7 and he averages 0.95 expected assists per 90 minutes.
Deploying Adama Traore at right wingback doesn’t actually mean Aaron Wan-Bissaka would drop to the bench, slotting the Englishman into Manchester United’s back three instead of Luke Shaw seems more ideal as Wan-Bissaka has got more defensive orientation compared to his fellow Englishman.
A three man centre back system comprising of Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, and Maguire, then having Adama Traore operate in front as a wingback is nothing less than ideal. In fact, having a versatile player like Adama in the team offers more flexibility as the team could switch formations if the need arises.
Adama Traore’s ability to operate comfortably as a winger would also mean that Manchester United can easily switch to a back four with Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, and either Williams or Shaw being their defensive shield, while Adama Traore would be able to join Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial up front to make up a front three and the midfield trio would always remain intact except the need arises for substitutions. Hence, Manchester United would be able to switch to a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1.
Playing 3-4-3 is also very feasible as the most offensive of the midfield trio could easily switch into the role of a winger or an attacker while the team still maintains its wingbacks.
Squad depth
It is also worthy of note that Adama Traore’s presence in the team could create the much needed depth in Manchester United offensive setup and there’d be competition for starting roles on the team’s offensive flanks.
Adama Traore’s even got the quality to keep out players like Daniel James out of the squad, the 22 year old Wales International is second to Adama Traore in terms of creative and offensive statistics as the Spaniard’s 7 assists and 4 goals betters his tally which stands at 6 assists and 3 goals.
In terms of expected assists, Adama Still has the upper hand having averaged an xA of 5.7 and 0.96 per 90 minutes, James’s statistics is in contrast averaging an x.A of 4.0 and 0.16 per 90 minutes. The Welshman only betters Adama Traore in terms of expected goals, averaging an xG of 3.1 and 0.13 per 90 minutes while that of Adama Traore stands at 2.3 and 0.10 per 90 minutes. Seeing the two players fight for a starting role would surely be a mouthwatering prospect, that is, in games where Ole Gunnaar Solksjaer opts for a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3 formation.
If a deal materializes, Adama Traore would surely have a lot to offer Manchester United compared to his other admirers and it would be a delight for the Old Trafford faithfuls seeing him in their team’s red shirt.
Stats via fbref (2019/20 EPL season)
MoSoccer.net 