Why Adama Traore smothers his arms in baby oil before matches | OneFootball

Adama Traore is one of the most unique football players in the Premier League, with the Fulham man possessing an astonishing amount of pace and power. His physique is unbelievable, and perhaps the most notable part about the Spaniard is the amount of oil he applies to his massive arms before games.

Previously regarded as a player that lacked end product, Traore flourished and enjoyed the best spell of his career under the management of Nuno Espirito Santo at Wolves. The wideman produced the most efficient season of his Premier League career during the 2019/20 campaign as he registered four goals and nine assists.

He spent that season roasting full-backs for fun, and the entire division stood up and took notice. Expectations grew that Traore would go on to become one of the top wingers in the country, but things haven't quite gone to plan since then.

Now at Fulham, Traore has struggled for fitness in the 2023/24 campaign as he attempts to get his floundering career back on track. There was once a time when the ex-Wolves star was seen as revolutionary.

The reason Traore covers his arms in oil

Method to the madness

Arguably the fastest player in England’s top flight, the 28-year-old is now quite literally greased lightning. Ahead of every game he plays, Traore smothers his arms in baby oil. Yep - you read that right: baby oil. This is according to The Sun, who claim that Wolves’ medics came up with this interesting ploy in an unorthodox attempt to protect the rapid winger during his time at Molineux.

By smothering Traore’s muscular arms in baby oil, the idea is that opponents find it much harder to stop him. When they attempt to pull him back by the arms, the hope is that they fail to get a proper grip and slide off. Genius.

“It’s something we’ve had to do to protect Adama. Defenders are so worried about him getting away from them with his pace they were reaching out and tugging at his arm,” a Wolves insider confirmed to The Sun. “That was causing the shoulder to pop out during games.

The trend doesn't seem to have been picked up by many other players so far, but the pacey winger set the blueprint for other rapid forwards looking to gain a clever advantage.

Adama explains use of baby oil

Slippery customer for Premier League defenders

Speaking to GOAL, Traore confirmed the reason behind his use of oil for football matches as he said: "To people trying to grab me when I'm running at speed. When I was recovering from my shoulder, people knew that I had some pain in my shoulder. So the way to stop me was by grabbing my hands, you know."

Continuing to relay the original story of the medical team coming up with the idea, he explained: "The doctor [at Wolves] had a great idea to put these things on my hands. It was pretty fun when the defenders tried to grab my arms, and they would slip."