With young striker Patrick Bamford moving from Chelsea to Middlesbrough this week, transfer rumours in the opposite direction have started to brew as well, involving former Barcelona prospect Adama Traoré. While Traoré would not be able to feature for Chelsea this season as he has already played for Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, he remains a feasible target for the Blues next summer, or even a sign and loan-back target for this winter.
Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka spoke about Chelsea's interest in the 20-year-old recently, not really denying or confirming anything, but instead focusing on Traoré himself, and basically warning him that he should keep his focus on maintaining the form that has drawn the Blues' attention in the first place.
"If a team like Chelsea are following Adama it’s because his progress has been brilliant in six months and he’s doing well, but he’s young and the main thing he has to do is to keep going as football can change a lot."
"He’s in a good moment now but with [new signing] Patrick [Bamford] here now, maybe other players arriving, maybe in two or three months he’s not playing and the Chelsea move disappears."
-Aitor Karanka; Source: London Evening Standard
Harsh but fair words from Karanka, as Traoré or any other young player could certainly veer off track in such situations. And while Traoré doesn't offer much else other than amazing speed and dribbling skills at the moment, he should stay in our shortlist for the summer just in case he’s able to keep up his form and continue improving.