Tottenham target Antonio Conte desperately wanted to sign joining Prem club for free
Former Tottenham manager Antonio Conte may have been all over a free transfer opportunity this summer if he was still at the helm in north London.
Adama Traore is set to join Fulham on a free transfer this summer, less than two years after Antonio Conte went all out to bring him to Tottenham. New Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou seemingly had no interest in following up on Conte’s interest, despite Traore being available on a free transfer.
The jet-heeled winger has been a free agent since leaving Wolves at the end of June. Although Traore is a full Spanish international and one of the fastest players in the Premier League, it has taken until the latter stages of the window to secure his next move.
According to The Athletic, the 27-year-old is in advanced negotiations to sign for Fulham. A verbal proposal has already been submitted by the Cottagers, and Traore is tempted to grasp the opportunity with both hands.
Seeing the Spaniard head to south-west London for absolutely nothing will be surreal for Spurs fans, who very nearly saw Traore join their club in January last year.
Conte was reportedly dead set on snapping him up from Wolves in a £20million deal to bolster his options at right wing-back. But the move never materialised and the player ultimately saw out his contract at Molineux
Traore is one of the most exciting players in the Premier League but his output leaves plenty to be desired. Over five seasons at Wolves, the wide man racked up exactly 200 appearances, scoring 14 goals.
The Spanish-born star came through Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy and spent time back at the Nou Camp on a brief loan spell from Wolves in 2021/22. Traore is now set for a stint at his fourth different Premier League club after prior spells with Aston Villa and Middlesbrough.
Postecoglou is set to play with a back-four this season, with Pedro Porro and Emerson Royal battling it out for the right-back spot. Djed Spence is also in the mix, but reports indicate that he has been
Spurs have had to endure a rocky Harry Kane transfer saga this summer which looks certain to end in a move to Bayern Munich. Postecoglou is braced for a busy end to the window, with more departures needed to thin out the squad.
“I don’t need assurances,” he said during his press conference on Friday. “Nothing has changed from when I started. We’ve had a clear idea about bringing in players to bolster the squad in the right areas. Moving players out is still a big part of what we need to do so we’ll see how that unfolds.”
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