According to the Daily Mirror, Premier League big guns Chelsea are on the brink of capturing Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore for a fee of £30 million.
The 22-year-old Spaniard has had a standout season at The Riverside, where his skillful and direct play has, at times, torn sides apart. It is this sparkling play that The Mirror say has led to Chelsea interest – the Londoners jockeying in to “pole position to finalise a £30million deal.”
The former Barcelona youth player has featured in 32 games in this season’s Sky Bet Championship, scoring five goals for the Teesside outfit and providing 10 assists.
Traore arrived in English football when Aston Villa paid £9 million to secure his services from Catalan and world football giants Barcelona. He was only at Villa for one season, playing 12 times and scoring one goal.
His two seasons at The Riverside have been something of a mixed bag with the exciting winger really coming alive under the stewardship and guiding hand of Tony Pulis. The Mirror article does say that Boro will want to retain his services should they manage to navigate promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs.
However, the Mirror article does go on to state that the youngster would “love another crack at the top flight” and say that “he is looking more like the finished product.”
Others such as Everton and Newcastle United are said to have been linked with him, but the Mirror say that Chelsea “have long been leading the chase” for the former Barça man.
