Oliver Burke and Adama Traore have promised big things at Celtic and Wolverhampton Wanderers – but are yet to really deliver consistently.
If any Wolves fans had nothing better to do on Thursday night and decided to tune into Celtic’s Europa League round of 32 clash with Valencia, they could have forgiven be thinking Adama Traore was wearing green and white.
Since moving to Wolves last summer, £18 million winger Traore has only confirmed what everyone had feared. Namely, that he is one of the quickest players around, a forward capable of scorching past opposition defenders like a bullet train – but a hugely frustrating talent whose end product and decision making remains decidedly erratic.
Nuno Espirito Santo has a big job on his hands turning Traore’s undoubted potential into genuine, game-changing quality.
And Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers has a very similar challenge on his hands with Oliver Burke.
The West Brom loanee has been largely impressive since arriving in January, scoring three times in four league starts, but his weaknesses were brutally exposed against a canny and streetwise Valencia side on Thursday as The Hoops’ European campaign came to an end.
Burke was released in behind the hosts’ defence time and time again but so often his touch let him down, he took too long to make a decision and the attack dwindled into nothing. Remind you of anyone, Wolves fans?
It seems that Celtic and Wolves are facing the same problem with arguably their most thrilling yet ultimately frustrating attacking talents.
Unlock their potential and Rodgers and Nuno could have some of Britain’s most exciting young forwards. Fail to do so, however, and Burke and Traore will continue to be an enigma.
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