What Jose Mourinho said about Bertrand Traore as Wolves transfer nears | OneFootball

Jose Mourinho was once incredibly complimentary about imminent Wolves signing Bertrand Traore during his time at Chelsea.

The summer transfer window may now be closed, but it seems there may be one further new arrival at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves were relegated from the Premier League last season after a humiliating campaign that saw them accumulate just 20 points, but a new era is underway at Molineux in the Championship under new head coach Cesar Peixoto.

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Wolves mainly focused on retaining their key players over the summer, and it was largely a successful approach.

While Wolves would have been disappointed to lose Joao Gomes, with the midfielder joining Midlands rivals Aston Villa in a £38 million deal, the club will have been happy to sanction many of the other senior exits, including the likes of Dan Bentley, Ki-Jana Hoever, Hwang Hee-chan, Tolu Arokodare and Saša Kalajdžić.

In addition to keeping hold of most of their stars, Wolves brought in seven new signings during the summer window, with John Ruddy, Joao Virginia, Kieran Trippier, Jordan James, Rafiki Said, Sean Neave and Raul Jimenez all arriving at Molineux.

Wolves have already signed one player after the close of the window, with defender Ghislain Konan reuniting with Peixoto after working under him at Portuguese side Gil Vicente last season, and it appears they may be on the verge of bringing in another free agent.

It was reported this week that Wolves are working on a deal to sign winger Bertrand Traore, with the winger currently available after being released by Sunderland this summer following a one-year spell at the Stadium of Light, during which he scored one goal in 12 appearances.

Jose Mourinho issued glowing verdict on potential Wolves signing Bertrand Traore

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After beginning his career with French club Auxerre, Traore signed for Chelsea in October 2013, with the transfer officially being completed in January 2014.

The Blues were managed by Jose Mourinho at the time, and Traore clearly made a big impression on the legendary Portuguese boss, who predicted that the winger had a big future ahead of him after his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

"He's a great talent that the club followed for a long time before me," Mourinho told the BBC.

"I wanted to take him with me to pre-season to have a view of two or three weeks and play with us and play in front of important crowds, 60, 70, 80,000, like we have in Asia.

"Of course, it is against easy opposition, but some situations are hard for a kid.

"We think the kid has a bright future," Mourinho continued.

"We wanted to get him, we had to wait for other things like a work permit, but we have a kid that, in our opinion, is one of the best talents of his age."

"He was doing that in pre-season.

"I keep saying, it was against nice opposition, but he was making an impact.

"He played since 16 years of age in his national team, and African national teams are good sides.

"Burkina Faso especially are a side with some talented players, but he played since 16 with them, so it looks like mentally he is also very stable.

"He comes from a family of footballers, his father, his brother, so I think this is his natural habitat.

"The kid looks very comfortable, and good players have no age, so I think the kid is ready to make an impact."

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While Mourinho was incredibly complimentary of Traore, he did not give him many first-team opportunities, and the Burkina Faso international spent much of his time at Chelsea out on loan with Vitesse and Ajax.

After scoring four goals and providing one assist in 16 senior appearances for the Blues, Traore made a permanent move to Lyon in 2017, and spells with Aston Villa, Istanbul Basaksehir and Villarreal followed before he returned for a second stint at Ajax ahead of his switch to Sunderland in the summer of 2025.

The Black Cats signed Traore for a fee of £2.5 million, and while he did not do enough to convince the Wearsiders to trigger their option to extend his contract for a further year, he was part of the squad that qualified for the Europa League in the club's first season back in the Premier League.

Having been so well-regarded as a youngster, it is fair to say that Traore has failed to live up to his potential, but he has still spent much of his career at the highest level, playing in the English, Dutch, Turkish and Spanish top flights.

With that in mind, Traore could be an exciting signing for Wolves, with the free transfer deal representing limited risk for the Midlands outfit, even if he will command significant wages.

Wolves are currently light in the wide areas with new signing Rafiki Said sidelined with an MCL knee injury suffered in pre-season, so even if he is not a regular starter, Traore will at least add extra depth and quality to Peixoto's squad.

Traore looks unlikely to ever fully deliver on Mourinho's bold prediction, but if he can show even a small glimpse of why the now Real Madrid manager rated him so highly, there is no doubt that he could be a big asset for Wolves in the Championship.