Wolves are prepared to let Adama Traore leave the club as a free agent, rather than offload him this month.
TalkSPORT have reported today that Julen Lopetegui is looking to retain Traore for the rest of the season.
At the moment, clubs can obviously bid for Traore to sign him now. Or they can negotiate to take him on a pre-contract for the summer.
It looks as though the latter is the most likely outcome.
Recently, it has been reported that Napoli are interested in Traore. There have also been links to Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United.
The player signing a new contract can also not be ruled out though at this point.
Previously, Traore has been reluctant to commit to a new deal at Molineux.
But Lopetegui is at the helm now, and the manager has already said he would like him to sign an extension.
Traore did comment on his future earlier this month, but wouldn’t really be drawn on the situation.
“The contract thing – it will depend on the club,” he told Sky Sports. “The club have to talk to me and we’re going to talk and we’ll see what happens…”
Traore has been fairly involved so far in Lopetegui’s nine games in charge.
He’s made three starts, but has featured in every game under the Spaniard. On four occasions, he’s played 45 minutes. He came off the bench at half-time for three of those.
This would be the right decision from Wolves and leaves time for Adama Traore to change his mind
Keeping Traore this month would be the right call by Wolves.
There may be a small temptation to try and get a bit of money for him now.
But there is more value in keeping him for the rest of the season. Especially as he is a player with the potential to completely change a game.
Granted, he is very inconsistent, and the end product still isn’t where it needs to be.
But Traore could easily help nick Wolves a few vital points between now and the end of the season. It’s right for him to stay.
And there’s always a chance he could change his mind and extend at Molineux. He certainly likes working under Lopetegui.