WE WON’T LET TRAORE SLIP THROUGH OUR FINGERS

The flying winger is known for putting baby oil on his arms.. and Nuno is delighted to keep him out of the clutches of other clubs

LEEDS WOLVES Elland Road: 8pm

ADAMA TRAORE is close to signing a new contract at Wolves after Nuno Espirito Santo insisted he was “delighted” to be back at the Molineux club.

Traore made his debut for Spain this month and has been linked with Liverpool.

But Wolv e s ke pt him despite cashing in on Diogo Jota and Matt Doherty in the transfer window.

Now the 24-year-old is set to be re wa rd e d w ith a lucrative new deal after the club tied down Raul Jimenez, Joao Moutinho and skipper Conor Coady on fresh terms.

It will mean a big rise in Traore’s pay, putting him closer to Wanderers’ top earners such as th eir £100,000-a-week striker Jimenez.

Ahead of the trip to Leeds tonight, manager Nuno said: “Adama is delighted to be here. You can see how happy he was just for us to be together again.

“Things will happen naturally – speculation around our players doesn’t bother us.

“We know what we have to do. But first of all you must be happy where you are.”

Traore has been used in a number of p o sitions by Wolves since joining from Middlesbrough for £18million in August 2018.

Last season he took his game to new heights with six goals and nine assists in all competitions.

This term he has been used at wing-back, out wide and as a striker.

One player who has not swapped hi s position is skipper Coady at the heart of a three-man defence. He returned to his club after winning two more England caps, aps, against Wales and

Denmark.

And he claimed a rare goal in the 3-0 friendly win ov er

Wa l e s a t

Wembley.

“Ye s , it surprised me a lot and even en him,” said Nuno.

“I wasn’t expecting that at all but I’m delighted.

“Not only the goal but the performance.

“You can see Conor was there to help the national team, he was committed to it and he enjoyed it so much.

“It is easy to like Conor because he is a fantastic human and professional.”

HE’S ALL MINE Boss Nuno Espirito Santo is glad Traore is still a Wolves player