Report claims Leeds are willing to break their transfer record to land Traore

Leeds United are willing to pay a club-record fee to land Wolves flier Adama Traore this summer, according to Eurosport.

They report that the Whites are trying to find out how much it would take to sign Traore.

Previous indications had been that he is valued at £80 million, but Leeds are willing to pay around £40 million.

That fee would eclipse the £30 million Leeds paid to land Traore’s Spanish compatriot Rodrigo last summer.

There have been reports this year that Traore wants to leave Molineux and that Wolves need to sell to buy players this summer.

Those two factors might open the door for him to exit. Wolves won’t get anything like £80 million for him this summer, especially given the current climate.

Wolves sold Diogo Jota to Liverpool for £45 million last summer.

If that acts as some kind of benchmark, it’s worth taking into account that Jota was sold to a club playing Champions League football, who had just won the Premier League.

Leeds won’t be in any kind of European competition next term and Traore is not on the same level as Jota in terms of goals and assists yet.

Is £40m fair?

The first thing to note is that Wolves are unlikely to get a player with Traore’s X-Factor through the door to replace him.

Another consideration is how well Traore fits into Bruno Lage’s system.

It never felt like Nuno drilled down a role for Traore, playing him at right wing-back and striker at times.

Perhaps Traore could be a real asset in a 4-4-2, either through the middle or out wide.

£40 million isn’t really enough to fund a huge squad overhaul but Wolves would still do well to get it from a fellow mid-table club without the finances which come with playing in Europe.

Perhaps a good European Championship would boost Traore’s market value, but he didn’t get off the bench last night as Spain drew 0-0 with Sweden.

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