Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has revealed that he thinks Wolves winger Adama Traoré is a more challenging opponent for defenders to face than current Premier League top scorer Jamie Vardy.
Traoré is enjoying his best spell in the Premier League this campaign after flattering to deceive in his previous seasons – but Klopp claims he always believed that Traoré would become a star given his talent if he could find the right manager.
The Barcelona-born forward joined the Catalunya side at the tender age of eight before spending a single season at Aston Villa after a £7m transfer in the summer of 2015. The 23-year-old would then spend two seasons at Middlesbrough prior to joining Wolves in 2018 to work with Nuno Espírito Santo.
Ahead of Liverpool's 1-0 win over Wolves on Sunday, Klopp – quoted by talkSport – said: “At Middlesbrough he was exceptional, but somebody had to give him the right information.
“[He is] A big, big talent. You would never have thought he is that young, but he is still very young, and now he has found it [the right manager]," the German manager continued. "It was always clear it would happen one day, and now it has. Good for Wolves!
“He is really dangerous. In a big space Jamie Vardy is difficult to defend, but I would say Traoré is even more difficult to defend because his speed is exceptional.”
Traoré has already registered eight goals and assists this campaign alone, more than the five he returned in his previous 66 matches in the competition. After experimenting with the Spaniard in a right wing-back role, it seems Traoré has found his home on the right-hand side of Wolves' front three, linking well with their number nine Raúl Jiménez and full-back Matt Doherty.
While Klopp may have monitored the forward's performance in the past, he would have been relieved to have only been subjected to Traoré for 30 minutes as Liverpool scraped past Wolves on Sunday.
Source : 90min