Why Nuno Espírito Santo is desperate to reunite Adama Traoré at Nottingham Forest

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Nottingham Forest are pushing to sign Adama Traoré from Fulham, with Nuno Espírito Santo’s plans for the explosive winger making complete sense.

Forest are interested in Traoré to add that similar level of explosive pace that Anthony Elanga offered, albeit as more of a rotation option given Dan Ndoye’s imminent arrival.

Nottingham Forest News reported that talks are ongoing with Fulham over Traoré as Espírito Santo looks to reunite with a player he knows very well, having previously got the best out of him at Wolves.

His physical ability is clearly the main selling point when signing someone like Traoré, but journalist John Percy has detailed a more specific reason why Nuno is so desperate to work with the Spaniard again.

Nuno Espírito Santo has a role in mind for Adama Traoré

It remains to be seen how much Fulham are demanding for the 29-year-old, but Traoré has entered the final year of his contract in London so perhaps a favourable deal could be struck.

Whatever the price, though, Forest signing Ndoye would make Traoré the second choice on the right side, but this is clearly part of Espírito Santo’s plan to make the Reds more of a threat in the latter stages of games.

Reporting for The Telegraph, Percy said: “It is also recognised that there were not enough players on the bench capable of making an impact late in matches. This explains why Nuno is pushing to sign Fulham’s Adama Traoré, effectively as a direct replacement for Anthony Elanga who joined Newcastle.

“Traoré is renowned for his explosive pace and produced arguably his best football under Nuno at Wolves. His former manager believes he can unlock his potential to influence matches.”

Given that Ramon Sosa has been sold to Palmeiras already, it’s clear that Nuno wasn’t convinced by his backup options last season, so bringing in a trusted option like Traoré looks to be smart.

His speed and strength should help cause chaos off the bench, but last season especially showed that the Spanish winger has developed an underrated creative touch as well.

Adama Traoré will offer more than chaos to Nottingham Forest

Jota Silva could still leave Forest as well so wingers will be needed regardless, with Traoré an ideal option to make the Reds a truly dangerous prospect in the closing stages of games.

Traore only made 18 starts for Fulham last season so he’s already used to the rotation role, but that didn’t stop him from producing a respectable eight assists in all competitions.

He was a creative force for The Cottagers, creating 2.14 chances per 90 alongside 2.44 dribbles to help his side move up the pitch and into attacking areas.

His crossing accuracy was also impressive at 30%, made more notable with the context that Elanga’s accuracy was down at 23%.

With his pace, his familiarity with Espírito Santo’s game and his underrated creative ability, Traoré looks to be a no-brainer for Edu to push ahead with.