Wolves star Boubacar Traore made a decisive impact for Mali at the U23s AFCON yesterday, grabbing a brilliant assist for his side in a 3-1 win over Gabon.
The midfielder is looking to make a big impression out in Morocco, after struggling for minutes at Wolves in 2023.
Traore’s first season at Molineux was wrecked by injury.
The star was looking good for Wolves just before the World Cup.
He was starting to see more minutes for the first-team and gaining prominence.
But the former FC Metz player would suffer an injury while the team was out in Marbella.
Initially it was felt that Traore’s injury wasn’t too serious, with Julen Lopetegui even suggesting he would play in the Boxing Day game against Everton.
But ultimately, Traore underwent surgery. He then featured only a couple of times before the end of the season.
Boubacar Traore channels inner Yaya Toure with assist for Mali
Last night Mali got off to the perfect start with a win over Gabon at the U23s AFCON tournament.
And Traore helped to get the ball rolling.
He gathered the ball from the left side around the halfway line and slipped past one Gabon player before playing a one-two with a teammate.
Traore then skipped by another Gabon player as he made his way to the penalty area.
The £10 million star picked out a perfect pass with the outside of his foot for Cheickna Doumbia to score.
It was a brilliantly burst from Traore from a deep midfield position to get his side up the field and into the final third. It was very much something you would have seen from legendary former Ivory Coast star Yaya Toure back in the day.
Boubacar Traore could do with a good U23s AFCON ahead of Wolves return
What a play this was from Traore, who also won his side a penalty in the first-half, which was converted by Mamadou Sangare.
It is great to see Traore making a big impact for his country in an international tournament.
It’s important that he uses it to build a bit of momentum ahead of returning to Wolves for pre-season.
Traore can be an important player for Wanderers in 2023/24. He and Joao Gomes are players the club are particularly excited about.
With Ruben Neves having now left the club, players will need to step up and Traore has the potential to become a key player under Lopetegui.
Lopetegui is known to be a fan of Traore. He was said to be gutted when the player sustained his injury out in Marbella.
Hopefully, he continues to shine in Morocco, and he can then have a really good pre-season under his belt.