Sassuolo’s Serie A ace Hamed Traore is in talks to join AFC Bournemouth for around £20 million after a move to Premier League rivals Leeds United collapsed, according to Dorset Live.
If Gary O’Neil’s side do go down, well, they are determined to ensure they go down fighting. Not to mention spending. Having invested a sizeable sum in signing one of France’s most exciting young forwards – Dango Ouattara arriving from Lorient – a side recently taken over by American billionaire Bill Foley could now make Traore one of the most expensive signings in Bournemouth’s entire history.
Traore, Dorset Live say, could set the Cherries back around £20 million.
Talks between Bournemouth and Sassuolo are now at an ‘advanced’ stage. There is a quiet confidence that Traore will be wearing red-and-black by the time the deadline passes on Tuesday.
A versatile attacking midfielder who can play on the left, the right or through the middle, Traore recently made his return after a number of months on the sidelines with a fractured metatarsal. An injury which scuppered his hopes of joining Leeds United last summer (Gazzetta dello Sport).
Leeds wanted Hamed Traore and now he could swap Sassuolo for Bournemouth
“I wouldn’t mind (trying a new challenge abroad),” the Ivory Coast international told Gazzeta di Modena in 2022. “The best leagues for me would be the Bundesliga or the Premier League.”
Traore set up four goals and scored eight more last season. The buccaneering attacker is creeping back into form again too, grabbing an assist during Sassuolo’s 5-2 thumping of crumbling Scudetto holders AC Milan at the San Siro on Sunday afternoon.
“I was amazed (when I first saw him),” says former Rossoneri ace Giovanni Galli of Traore. “When I saw him, he was playing as a mezzala but with an extraordinary physical strength and technical control.
“Even then, he had a great personality. And, in recent years, he has grown a lot in this respect. He is ready to play in a great team like Milan and to (play in) the Champions League. He is a boy born to take responsibility on the pitch.”
It seems unlikely that Leeds will renew their interest in Traore during the final 24 hours of the window. The former Empoli youngster is arguably at his most effective on the left-hand side. A position in which Leeds are very well stocked; Jack Harrison, Crysencio Summerville, Luis Sinisterra, Georginio Rutter and the outstanding Wilfried Gnonto all capable of thriving on the flank.
Leeds are close to signing another Serie A star, however; Weston McKennie arriving from Juventus.
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