Adama Traore: West Ham may regret contract call - he's got second-season history

Adama Traore will leave West Ham United when his contract expires at the end of the month, but he may have been primed for a big 2026-27.

The 30-year-old joined West Ham in a deal worth up to £2million in last season's January transfer window.

After failing to provide a single goal contribution in 20 appearances for Fulham during the first half of the 2025-26 season, his signing was instantly questioned by many.

However, the lighting fast winger promised to add a unique weapon to Nuno Espirito Santo's squad, with the pair having previously worked together at Wolves too.

Unfortunately though, the Spaniard only showed his ability in flashes at the London Stadium, providing just the one assist in 12 total appearances.

As a result, he's now set to hit the free agent market at the end of June, with the Hammers making the decision to quickly move on from this disappointing piece of business.

Adama Traore has track record for second season improvement

Football can be a ruthless industry, and Adama's inability to hit the ground running as a West Ham player has cost him dearly.

Indeed, he's fought a career-long battle to prove he's got the end product to match his natural athletic gifts, but that's not been easy for him.

After being unable to kick on at Barcelona or with Aston Villa respectively, it was at Middlesbrough where he really started to show the player he could be if he put it all together.

Having provided zero goals and one assist in 31 games during his debut 2016-17 season in the Premier League, Traore then banked a 10-assist and five-goal 2017-18 campaign in the Championship.

Wolves then triggered his reported £18m release clause in the summer of 2018, and again struggled in his debut season there, scoring once and registering two assists in 36 games.

His second season at Molineux saw him net six times and provide 11 assists though, once again taking a big leap in his sophomore year with a new team.

So, when it came time for him to sign for Fulham in the summer of 2023, it was perhaps no shock to see him score just twice and chip in with three assists from 18 appearances in his debut 2023-24 season.

You guessed it though, as in 2024-25, Traore scored twice and registered eight assists in 41 games, making that a hat-trick of moves where he's improved in his second term.

Traore had West Ham insurance policy potential

Having previously proven himself to be a quality player at Championship level, Traore may well have had a big chance to see history repeat itself for a fourth time with West Ham.

The Hammers look destined to lose Crysencio Summerville over the coming weeks, whilst Jarrod Bowen also appears likely to depart.

So, with Traore now heading for the free agent scrapheap, Nuno could soon be looking at Keiber Lamadrid as his only natural winger in the senior squad.

Because of this, whilst Traore was certainly a disappointment for the Irons last season, he could've at least provided Nuno with a bit of insurance on the flanks.

Now though, West Ham transfer chiefs really need to get to work on identifying some potential transfer options on the wing.