Strange how polarising a player Traore is on here. It seems to me some people have already made up their mind on what player they want him to be and will force him into that box irrespective of what he actually does over the course of a season.
This thing, about him being easily nulified or taken out of a game, though, is pretty bizarre when it's clear it takes a massive amount of opponent resources (multiple men) and concentration to contain him. It's the play, players and tactics around him that need to be looked at to best take advantage of that and because Wolves are set up to be so defensive primarily, and opportunistic, secondly, there is often a disconnect when it comes to supporting Traore and taking advantage of the ruptures and disruption he causes by simply being what he is.
You can't blame Traore for the fact he can beat multiple men and then be stuck because his team-mates are miles away and trying to catch up to the play, by which time Traore is then being closed back down and having his options reduced - he either has to go on hero solo runs towards goal, Bale at Spurs style, and then be accused of greediness and simple-mindedness in equal measure, or, he has to wait a bit and then try a much harder pass or cross to one of the very few bodies who are, by then, up in support. That is on his manager to fix, not Traore. He is used as an outlet ball, but not supported as one, at all. The tactic teams employ to reduce Traore's threat is tracking the supporting runners and narrowing his options to those above, which in turn makes it look like he is not thinking as a top player should. Under the conditions and remit of this Wolves side, I'd like to see which players in his exact role would look considerably better than Traore does.
Ironically, and on the other hand, as we go up the levels and look at what a CL club wants out of a RW or RWF, Traore needs to show more individual quality in terms of ceasing moments for himself as his productivity and justification for being a starter in such a team would then be in question. It's a catch 22 - players who make the leap from sides like Wolves to those at the higher level tend to do so by taking all the burden on themselves and standing out, not by being particularly great team players - Traore going on a number of hero runs that are talked about post-game, will get more plaudits than Traore trying to play others in after they finally catch up to him on a counter; Traore taking his own maverick runs, and not waiting for team-mates to catch up, but instead taking on shots for himself, will be judged solely on the threat of those shots, not on the decision made to take them on. He converts, or looks like he can, and he's potentially a great RWF; he looks woeful and is ballooning shots, he is nothing more than a mindless pace merchant...
Coming through La Masia, it would be interesting to see what he can do in short passing chains and combination football. It would also be interesting to see how he thinks and how he looks to exploit situations in that kind of close quarter style. Does he make runs into new pockets of space? Does he read the play and exploit it? Off the ball running at Wolves is not the same, especially within a strict set up where your role is narrow and defined - Traore cannot be proactive off the ball in a reactive system that relies on him being where he is supposed to be as the outlet ball at all times. If he wasn't where he was supposed to be, he would not be the outlet ball, and on a counter-counter, he would be badly out of position and then called headless, and what have you.
For a true guage of this guy's football intelligence, he needs to be in a side where he is not utterly relied upon to 'gain yards' and allow the whole team to breathe. All of it is a catch 22 for Traore. I find, as I said in the first paragraph, he is a player people don't consider all sides of because of their own preconceived notions of what he is and will amount to. Additionally, for Traore to be worth the money Wolves would quote, him being so vital to how they play factored in, his breakout season will not be with an uptake in assists, but goals, and goal threat.
