Tottenham have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Adama Traore following reports that it appears increasingly unlikely he will remain with Barcelona beyond this season. Spurs could look to exploit the Spaniard’s situation having missed out on him in the January transfer window after the La Liga giants swooped to re-sign the Wolves winger on a six-month loan deal.
Traore made an impressive start to his second stint with Barcelona, registering two assists in his first two starts, including one in a sparkling display against Atletico Madrid. Since then, the Tottenham target has been restricted to a bit-part role following the re-emergence of the soon-to-be out-of-contract Ousmane Dembele.
An option-to-buy clause believed to be in the region of £25million was included in Traore’s loan agreement, however, due to Barcelona’s ongoing financial crisis, the cash-strapped Catalan club reportedly acknowledge a deal to keep him at the Nou Camp looks unlikely.
According to Sport, Barcelona are keen to retain Traore, but are unwilling to invoke the option-to-buy clause agreed upon back in January. The 26-year-old was initially viewed as the replacement for Dembele, however, the French forward’s recent renaissance has thrown an additional spanner into the works.
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The Blaugrana reportedly accept that they cannot retain both players, and tying Dembele down to a new deal would be the preferred option given he is already on the club’s books. The winger is out of contract in the summer and appeared all but set to depart for free having snubbed a number of Barcelona’s proposals.
However, reports in Spain claim Dembele remains keen on extending his Nou Camp stay and, should an agreement be reached, that would signal the end of Traore’s second coming at the club. The Wolves’ winger’s agent Jorge Mendes has been aware of the complications regarding extending the player’s stay beyond this summer for some time and has been working on a solution.
One such renegotiation with Wolves could see Barcelona include either Trincao, who is currently only at Molineux, or young midfielder Riqui Puig within a deal. Though the former netted in Wolves’ 3-2 defeat to Leeds last Friday, he has struggled to make his mark in the West Midlands, while Puig is a player who is well-liked by Bruno Lage and co.
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