Ian Wright says £18m Fulham star needs to learn from what Marc Overmars did at Arsenal

https://cdn1.tbrfootball.com/uploads/27/2024/10/GettyImages-2170817289-1024x683.jpg

After making the difficult decision to sell Joao Palhinha this summer, Fulham continued to make the most of Mikel Arteta's castaways at Arsenal.

Emile Smith Rowe has been a huge success since arriving at Craven Cottage, and Reiss Nelson is also now beginning to find his feet at Fulham too.

The pair joined Bernd Leno and Alex Iwobi as players who have swapped Arsenal for west London, a path that has served them well.

Of course, a lot of Arsenal fans now have a vested interest in Fulham's fortunes, able to keep an eye on a number of their former players whilst also watching Nelson's progress on loan.

That being said, Ian Wright had his eyes on a Fulham player with no Arsenal ties last weekend during the 3-2 loss to Manchester City.

Adama Traore told he only needs to make one simple change at Fulham

Speaking on the 'Wrighty's House' podcast, Wright discussed the travails of Adama Traore at the Etihad – the biggest nearly player of a generation.

Traore was strong, fast and clever against Pep Guardiola's side, but wasn't able to finish any of his gilt-edge chances. 

Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images

Wright spoke at length about Traore's finishing conundrum, saying he could actually learn from how Marc Overmars adjusted at Highbury.

Wright said: 'Can you imagine? Yeah, but can you imagine how bad your finishing must have been when the opposing manager is giving you coaching tips on how to finish against his own team?

"You know, he had that look in his face, it was like, I don't know, I've never seen it, but like when we're talking about Adama Traore and ability, and what he's capable of, we've waited so many years because of the promise we've seen.

"If he's working on his game, what he should become, right? You know, his body and everything, he obviously working amazingly on that because he's an Adonis of a footballer – he looks amazing in respects of his muscles.

READ MORE: Fulham ace hailed by Bayern legend as 'special' £19m teammate outshines Erling Haaland

"If he is working a fraction as much on his actual game and finishing, like what I used to see with Marc Overmars, right?

"One of the quickest players I've ever seen on the pitch right? Honestly, he would practise just running through because he's so quick, he's probably getting there and you can't keep up with him.

"And he'd only practise just going and slotting the ball in the net. That is all Adama Traore had to do from the time we've seen him to now."

Marco Silva can still get the best out of Adama Traore

To fight Traore's corner slightly, the former Barcelona player, who joined Wolves for £18m back in 2018, did actually choose the right finish for two of his three big chances.

City's Ederson saved superbly one-on-one in the first 45 minutes, and Traore was right to try and lift his finish delicately when the ball fell to him later in the half.

And by the time Traore beat Kyle Walker to face Ederson again, it's not a surprise that his finishing confidence had deserted him.

Guardiola raved about four Fulham players after Saturday's game, including Traore.

And it would be wrong to write the 28-year-old off just yet, who still seems to be on the cusp of taking his game to the next level.

×