FC Barcelona have identified their academy product Adama Traore as a potential replacement for Ousmane Dembele, reports Diario Sport. As it stands, the Frenchman is set to leave the club after failed contract negotiations.
Dembele joined Barcelona as a 20-year-old in 2017 in a transfer that cost Barca a whopping €105 million. His tenure at Barca has been disappointing to say the least, with the winger not performing to Barcelona’s expectations, in addition to being highly injury-prone.
The Catalans have now been linked with Spaniard Adama Traore, who has reportedly entered into the last six months of his contract with Wolverhmapton, and is supposedly looking for a move away from the club. The winger has a reported price tag of 24 million, which Barcelona are willing to pay. Although Traore has had a poor start to the season, the Blaugrana believe that the Spaniard is the ideal replacement to Dembele.
Despite his torrid time at Barcelona, the Catalans were still in talks with Dembele to negotiate an extension. However, it appears that the negotiations have reached a dead end, with the Frenchman’s wage demands proving to be the point of disagreement.
Traore has other suitors, mainly Tottenham Hotspur, who are looking to strengthen their squad following the appointment of Antonio Conte. The manager believes that the pacy Traore could be used as a right wingback, similar to Victor Moses’s role during Conte’s title-winning first season at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian, who employs a system with three centre-backs and two wing-backs, is of the opinion that Traore will slot into the role of a right-sided wing-back perfectly, and therefore, the London club is also interested in the Wolves man.
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Nevertheless, Barcelona would be looking to take advantage of their cordial relationship with Wolves, most recently selling right-back Nelson Semedo, and winger Francisco Trincao to the Premier League club. Barcelona will also be looking to exploit the fact that some of Traore’s senior Spain teammates represent Barcelona, including Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Although Barcelona are interested in securing the services of Traore, their primary priority would still be to extend Dembele’s contract. If the negotiations continue to stall, Traore would be among the top choices for the Catalan club.
