There have been more than a few players linked with West Ham under the headline of “Nuno’s transfer priority” recently. Some rumours feel more believable than others, but most fans would agree a striker sits near the very top of the Hammers’ Christmas wish list.
A winger, however, wasn’t a position many were talking about until very recently — and when the name Adama Traoré surfaced, plenty of supporters were far from excited.
Espirito Santo is known to love his former Wolves wide man and, so the rumour goes, Nottingham Forest’s reluctance to sign him played a part in Nuno’s departure from the City Ground.
Traore is wanted by Nuno Espirito Santo
Traoré might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he is precisely the profile of player West Ham need to make the manager’s counter-attacking system function properly. The muscle-bound Fulham winger is out of contract in six months and should therefore be available for under £4m this January.
Traoré: Low Fee, High Impact?
He may lack the end product many crave, but unless West Ham are ready to spend £40m+ on a winger this winter — which feels highly unlikely — then Traoré solves a problem position for the sort of fee this club usually wastes on loan deals.
For Nuno, Traoré is the ideal substitute: raw pace, brute strength, and the ability to terrify defenders one-on-one. More importantly, his presence alone forces opposition managers to drop their defensive line, reducing the pressure on West Ham’s back four — something badly needed after the chaos seen in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
The Hammers have sorely missed the speed and direct running of Crysencio Summerville in recent weeks. Like Traoré, the Dutchman isn’t exactly a goals-and-assists machine, but his pace creates space and opportunities for others. And while many fans would like to see more of Guilherme, the squad is desperately short of pace in depth.
Don’t get me wrong — West Ham need far more than just Adama Traoré. But if signing him allows the club to put the bulk of their budget into a striker, then I’m all for it.
Leave well alone .
He only plays on the right wing and we are covered there .
One trick pony and well past his best
Traoré is like a rubbish Antonio that you wouldn’t consider taking off the wing and playing up front like you would with Bowen or Antonio or Arnoutavic because he doesn’t score enough goals. So you leave him on the wing but we already have Bowen on the wing. So what’s the point ?
For £4m as cover for Summerville ? he is an impact sub that rarely has an impact because he can’t shoot and can’t cross accurately, likely would want big wages, surely there are better options?
Claret and Booze yesterday saying we have been offered Neymar and Kaio Jorge others we are scouting Franculino Dju curious to see what we do.
If we can get him for £4m and NOT on a 3 year £100k per week salary it sounds good. On Sunday Bowen looked ineffective hemmed in on the right wing. So maybe he needs ro have the freedom to switch things around a bit
Spot on again Gonzo, I think he may be a much needed addition to our team.
I’d like to know why we havnt persevered with C Marshall? He is raw energy and press. We needed him in our recent games
Thanks Benny . . . I was expecting everyone to disagree.
I do think Marshall should be on the bench
He is a right winger I believe. If so, where’s Bowen going? Not cf surely.
And if Traore is playing in the front 3 with Summerville, that’s two players with a lot of speed, creating ‘carnage’ but with no end product.
If we can afford to have Traore as an impact sub, I’m in favour but surely we need an impact starter more.