Bruno Lage insists his decision to bench Adama Traore again was purely tactical and has nothing to do with the winger’s ongoing contract situation. Asked why Traore didn’t start,
Bruno Lage said: “That’s the question every time. We need to take decisions. We played with Adama against Leeds and we didn’t have the chances in the transition. I understand the question, for sure we thought about it. We tried to play. We tried to understand the game and find the spaces to play. Outside it was Rayan (Ait-Nouri) and Nelson (Semedo) in good positions and to find Hwang and Trincao inside the lines, after that we attack their defensive line. But for that we need to have good decisions from the back and to find the spaces. That’s why when I look at the game, it wasn’t a good performance but also Crystal Palace did a massive performance. They understood well what they needed to do to press us high and we didn’t have the ball like we normally do.”
When Nuno Espirito Santo benched Traore last season, it was reported that it had something to do with his failure to sign a new contract. Wolves and Traore’s representatives have been in discussions over a new deal for more than 12 months, but an agreement hasn’t been reached and the Spaniard’s current contract expires in 2023. Lage is adamant Traore’s contract situation has nothing to do with team selection though.
Bruno Lage said: “No, no, no. I don’t know what happened before. I am 100 percent free to take my decisions, that’s my job. The personality I have, I wouldn’t accept that kind of thing in my role. If I need him to play and win games, I will put him in the game.”
