Barcelona president Joan Laporta has hinted that the Catalonian club may not activate the option to buy Adama Traore permanently in the summer.
Traore was thought to be Spurs’ first-choice target for the right wing-back role in January but, according to The Athletic, the pacy wide man snubbed the North Londoners’ approach in favour of a move to Barca.
The La Liga giants signed the winger on an initial loan deal, with an option to make the transfer permanent for £29m in the summer (Sky Sports).
Mundo Deportivo subsequently revealed that the Spain international ‘was practically closing the agreement’ with the Lilywhites but everything changed when he heard of the interest from Barca.
However, the pacy winger has not hit the ground running at Camp Nou, having made just three league starts for Xavi’s side since his January move (Transfermarkt).
Laporta has now hinted that Barcelona might not be able to afford to take up the option to sign Traore permanently.
The Barca president said about the on-loan Wolves man (via Fabrizio Romano): “We’d love Adama Traoré to stay here [buy option clause from Wolves], it’s possible – but we’re in difficult financial situation. We’ll see at the end of the season.”
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Perhaps one of the reasons Spurs did not sign a right wing-back in January was because they wanted to wait and see if Traore would be back in the market in the summer.
If Conte has identified the pacy winger as the ideal fit for the role, the North London club could reignite their interest in him if Barca do not take up the option to sign him.
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