This is why Wolves have signed former Sunderland winger Bertrand Traore
Former Sunderland winger Bertrand Traore has signed for Wolves.
Former Sunderland winger Bertrand Traore has signed for Wolves on a one-year deal.
Traoré established himself as an important part of Régis Le Bris's starting XI in the first half of last season following his deadline day arrival from Ajax last summer, but an injury suffered during the Africa Cup of Nations hampered his progress. The winger made one further appearance as a substitute against Leeds United at Elland Road, but suffered a recurrence in that cameo and did not feature again.
Following talks, Sunderland opted not to activate their option to extend his contract on Wearside for another campaign. It has now been announced the 31-year-old has penned a one-year deal at Championship side Wolves.
Wolves executive chairman Nathan Shi said: “In this position on the pitch it was our aim to bring in someone who could have an immediate impact on the squad and give the coaching staff more flexibility and options. “We’re delighted Bertrand has decided to join us. He brings extensive experience of the English game, which will benefit our dressing room, and he was the ideal match for Cesar’s needs in a right winger, so we’re confident he will help us a lot during a long and challenging Championship season.”
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Head coach Cesar Peixoto said: “It’s a position we wanted and he’s a good player to improve the team, one more option. He has the right characteristics I want in this position – good one versus one, strong, left footed to score or assist and fast to attack the space. It’s a position we’re going to change a lot during the season, so we needed more player with different characteristics for us to have options.
“He needs time to get fit because he’s been working alone, and he needs time to know our idea of the game, but he is another option to help us fight to get to the Premier League. Like we saw on Sunday, the Championship is very tough, so we need two players in each position to manage the games.”
Technical director Matt Jackson said: “We’re really pleased. It’s been a long, ongoing process, we’ve known all summer about Bertrand's availability and worked hard with his representatives, knowing he was a perfect profile. We’ve looked at a lot of players as part of our recruitment and scouting process, and he certainly hits our criteria.”
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