Adama Traore could get the chance to stake his claim for a regular starting berth at Wolves this weekend, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.
Wolves travel to Villa Park on Saturday, hoping to extend their winning streak in the Premier League to three matches, after victories over Southampton and Newcastle prior to the international break.
What's the latest news involving Traore?
Traore was linked with a move to Tottenham in the summer, as he entered the final two years of his contract at Molineux. He ended up staying at Wolves, though, and has endured a difficult time in recent weeks.
Having started each of his side's opening five league games this term, he has been left out of the starting line-up for their last two matches by manager Bruno Lage.
Indeed, he played just a single minute off the bench in Wolves' most recent outing against Newcastle, signalling that he is only on the fringes of the team at the moment.
What has Hatfield said about Traore?
Despite his lack of game time over the past few weeks, Hatfield believes that Traore, who Transfermarkt value at £27m, could come back into the starting line-up against Aston Villa, and has claimed that it is a chance for the 25-year-old to remind Lage of how good he is.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about the Spanish international, he said: “It’s a great opportunity for him to show what he’s about as well, because we’ve seen in recent weeks that he’s not starting, and he’s not been as integral as he’d hope to be, and there’s still talks over his contract.
“But if he can put in a really good performance against Villa, then maybe he wins that starting shirt back, and we’ll see what happens from there. But for Villa, they’ll be hoping that Traore’s form is remaining where it is at the moment, where he’s not exactly getting goals and assists.”
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Will Traore definitely start against Villa?
Not necessarily.
Lage dropping Traore was a ruthless call, but it has worked out well for Wolves so far, as they have picked up impressive wins in their last two games.
Raul Jimenez and Hee-chan Hwang linked up to devastating effect when the team last played, with the former assisting both of Hwang's goals, so they will both be in contention to play against Villa.
However, Jimenez is set to return a matter of hours before kick-off following international duty, and Trincao is a major doubt after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, which could see Traore come back into the fold.
He would then have the opportunity to prove himself once again, and if he can deliver the goods, it will be very difficult for Lage to leave him out moving forwards.