West Ham are getting exactly what Fulham record said they would with Adama Traore
Nuno Espirito Santo is desperately searching for inspiration from somewhere as West Ham’s relegation battle rages on.
West Ham‘s four-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to a crashing end on Saturday, as Liverpool crushed the Hammers 5-2 at Anfield.
Nottingham Forest and Tottenham both lost too, which only served to further add to the frustrations as another opportunity to escape the bottom three passed Nuno‘s men by.
The Irons must sharpen up for a trip to Fulham on Wednesday, which will see West Ham’s January signing Adama Traore return to his former stomping ground of Craven Cottage.
Adama Traore isn’t delivering the goods for West Ham
Signed from the Cottagers in a deal worth up to £2million back in January, Traore linked back up with his former boss Nuno at the London Stadium, having worked together at Wolves previously.
It was during his few years at Molineux that the Spanish winger played some of his best, and most productive football of his career.
There he played just shy of 200 times for Wanderers, scoring 14 times and providing 20 assists, even earning himself a loan move back to the club he began his career with in January 2022: Barcelona.
However, after a solid 2024-25 with Fulham where he scored twice and registered seven assists in 36 Premier League games, Traore went 20 total games without providing a single goal contribution in the first half of this season.
It’s this lack of end product that has plagued Adama through large parts of his career, with his raw athletic abilities always threatening to see him become a top player if he put it all together.
Alas, that hasn’t been the case, and now 30, his best days appear to be firmly behind him, as he’s failed to register a single goal contribution through his first five appearances as a West Ham player.
Therefore, heading into Wednesday’s game against his old Fulham side, it’s the Cottagers who will feel confident they’ve won that trade.
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Traore has no clear path to starting minutes at West Ham
Traore has not yet made a Premier League start for West Ham, and that’s for understandable reasons too.
Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville are two of the Hammers’ best players, and are both fairly undroppable on either wing.
Traore can’t really operate anywhere other than down the flanks either, so a wildcard Nuno play to throw him in at centre-forward or in an attacking midfield role is incredibly unlikely too.
So, Traore’s only potential chance to make a success out of his West Ham move may be if the team are relegated, as neither Bowen nor Summerville would surely be sticking around for Championship football next season.
That could then open up the door for Traore, who does Championship experience on his CV with Middlesbrough, to make a strong claim for a starting role next term.
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