Bruno Lage has said he aims to improve Adama Traore’s positioning moving forwards.
The Spaniard has come back into the starting XI recently after falling down the pecking order.
Traore was used sparingly in October and November, which led to speculation that Lage wasn’t picking him due to the ongoing situation with his contract.
The manager denied that had any bearing on his team selection.
Traore returned to the starting XI for the game against Burnley at the start of the month, and put in a really lively performance.
He then followed that up with a promising showing at Liverpool.
Despite looking a huge threat as usual, Traore still hasn’t scored or assisted this term.
It is cause for frustration for many, but Lage does believe the player has been somewhat unlucky.
He said: “He’s been unlucky in those situations. You can imagine if Adama scored five or six goals from the situations then we have more points and he is doing something fantastic.”
Traore’s end product has been a hot topic for some time now.
Undoubtedly it still leaves a lot to be desired. But Lage believes improving him positionally can help with that side of his game.
He added: “What I want is to increase better his position sometimes, sometimes he can work also inside, he shot twice from different positions.
“He created chances from outside and also from inside. For sure what is most frustrating for players like him, when he goes with the goalkeeper he gets the feeling he can score and if he doesn’t score the frustration is bigger than with other players.”
Traore mustn’t get inside his own head, as Lage delivers verdict
From these comments from Lage, it seems Traore is someone that can perhaps get inside his own head.
After he hit the bar against Burnley, the cameras picked up Traore looking absolutely gutted for a fair while because his hard work didn’t quite pay off.
The 25-year-old is one of the most unique footballers out there and his threat is colossal. He will always cause problems for defenders and he must take heart from that.
He is a consistent end product away from being a top, top footballer.
He is still a couple of years away from his prime, and he shouldn’t lose sight of that.
Hopefully working with Lage will bring him on, and he will ultimately sign that contract extension.