Express & Star

Wolves winger Adama Traore excelled after Olympian's advice

Adama Traore became Wolves’ record signing after taking on advice from former Olympic sprinter Darren Campbell – about slowing down.

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Wing flyer Traore was snapped up in the summer for £18million from Middlesbrough, where he received special coaching from the 2004 Games gold medallist.

Campbell was brought in by Boro boss Tony Pulis to teach Traore how to make the most of his speed and, in turn, become a more productive player.

“One of the things I said to him was ‘everything you do is 100mph so you need to know what it’s like at 50 per cent, 70 per cent, 80 per cent’. I said to him 80 or 90 per cent should be enough to beat any defender in any league,” Campbell told Talksport.

“It was a case of him getting to know how to use his power and use his speed.

“Fortunately, he took on the advice and he got his move to Wolves.

“We knew he was an exceptional talent. He just needed smoothing out a little bit.

“If you’re going to improve, you need to have that level of relaxation.

“He hadn’t scored a goal and once he understood what he had to do, he started scoring goals.”

Traore, after joining from Villa, went 31 matches without scoring in his first season at Boro.

He impressed massively last term though, chipping in with five goals and 10 assists – and being named fans’ player of the year, young player of the year and players’ player of the year.

“I think he could be a good 60m runner,” added Campbell, who won gold for Team GB in the 4x100m relay in Athens.

“It’s difficult to say 100m because of the technical skill that takes.

“He’s definitely the fastest footballer I’ve ever worked with.”