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Barcelona have reportedly agreed a deal to bring former winger Adama Traore back to the Camp Nou from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers to replace Ousmane Dembele.
The 26-year-old is due to arrive in Barcelona on Friday, January 28 and the transfer will be made official on Monday, January 31 before the winter transfer window closes, as reported by Catalunya Radio.
Traore will return on a loan deal and has agreed a pay cut to move back to the Camp Nou after seven years away. The report adds that the 26-year-old can be incorporated without Barca exceeding their salary limit.
The transfer could also include a purchase option of around €35 million, as reported by David Ornstein at The Athletic. Tottenham Hotspur had also been keen on Traore but the attacker was “unsure about the prospect of playing right wing-back.”
Traore is expected to replace Dembele at the Camp Nou. The Frenchman has been told to leave the club by director of football Mateu Alemany and has been left out of Barcelona’s last two matchday squads.
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‘Barcelona Is My Home’
Barcelona have been regularly linked with a move to bring back Traore. The winger came through the club’s famous La Masia academy and made his first-team debut in 2013 for the Catalan giants.
However, he failed to make the breakthrough at Barca and was sold to Aston Villa in 2015 after managing just four first-team appearances. Traore spoke about a possible return in the summer while playing for Spain at Euro 2020, as reported by ESPN.
“Barcelona is my home, that’s the reality. I grew up there, I was there for 10 years,” he told RAC1. “They’ve always given me a lot. We would have to see what they offer… but now the mentality is the national team and Wednesday’s game.”
Traore is known for his electric speed and his muscular physique. Indeed it’s also been revealed he uses baby oil on his arms to stop opposing defenders from trying to stop him.
Former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo told ESPN that the idea originally came from the club’s medical department in a bid to try and prevent injuries.
“I thought it was honestly a fantastic idea by the medical department because it came from the injury that he had with his shoulder,” he said. “That was caused basically because of holding of his arm and creating this strong impact on his shoulder and he got injured from that. It’s very hard to stop Adama, and that (baby oil) avoids that situation. He becomes more slippery, so we get the advantage of his speed and talent. It was an option to avoid it, and from then on, he’s kept on doing it and it’s good.”
Time Up For Dembele?
Traore will arrive as a “clear substitute” for Dembele who Barca want to sell as a priority before the January window shuts, as reported by Ferdinand Pole at Mundo Deportivo.
The Catalans are “fed up” with Dembele and believe his salary demands and requests for a renewal bonus are “exorbitant.” The Frenchman’s refusal to respond to Barca’s contract offer has also been viewed as a “delaying tactic.”
Dembele’s agent is beginning to open up to the possibility of a January exit in the final days of the window because the forward he does stay it looks increasingly likely he will spend the rest of the season watching from the stands.
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