Marcelo Bielsa has admitted to Leeds Live that Adama Traore is a difficult player to stop, ahead of Leeds United’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers tonight.
Traore is likely to start tonight for Wolves, and he could be a major threat against Leeds on the counter.
The Whites are a side who like to commit men forward, and Wolves will be hoping that Traore’s pace can hurt them, if they leaves spaces.
Bielsa admits that he hasn’t come up with a specific plan to stop the Spanish international, but he does feel that Leeds’ defenders will need to support each other, if they are to stop him hurting them.
“We don’t play a system where it’s man-to-man marking,” Bielsa said, when asked how to stop Traore.
“We put a defender in the positions where an opponent puts an attacker. If the attacker abandons that position for another attacker to occupy it, if possible we change the markers to avoid the marker following.
“But when this happens quickly during an action it’s better to follow the man than leave him to one of your team-mates. I believe, fundamentally, Traore is a player who likes to play out wide on the wings. If he dominates the ball on his side he’s difficult to stop, so whoever’s marking him will need some support.”
Bielsa’s comments on Traore are particularly interesting as they show his admiration for the winger, who has been heavily linked with a move to Leeds.
EuroSport claim that the Whites are likely to make an offer for him in the summer, and he could be an exciting addition.
Liam Cooper also recently talked up Traore’s talents, so it is obvious that he has admirers at Elland Road.
But Leeds may hope that Traore has an off-day tonight, as that would make their task of picking up three points from Molineux much easier.
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