Barcelona Target Addresses Transfer Rumors, Discussions With Ansu Fati

Wolverhampton Wanderers star Adama Traore has finally addressed the transfer rumors linking his name to Barcelona and opened up about his friendship with former teammate, Ansu Fati.

Traore was linked to a grand return to Camp Nou almost the entire summer. But while the 24-year-old has kept in touch with some of his fellow Barcelona academy graduates, including Fati, he has set the record straight and said he is only focused on winning with the Wolves for now.

"It's not my decision whether I would suit Barcelona," Traore told reporters at a news conference ahead of Spain's Nations League match against Switzerland on Saturday, Goal reported. "My mentality is to work every day to be better."

When asked about his friendship with Fati, Traore did not disclose any specific details but said that he and the Barca rising star have been discussing a variety of topics.

"We [Me and Fati] talk about everything," he revealed. "Even some more general topics because I have been at the club for many years and so has he. We met in the academy and have spoken about things to do with the team, the things that we happened [to do] together at Barcelona. We know each other well."

Due to his impressive showing in the Premier League, Traore emerged as one of the top targets last summer.

Despite being heavily linked to Barcelona, the Wolves standout was said to be “very close” to signing with Juventus on Sunday after the reigning Serie A champion identified Traore as a potential replacement for Douglas Costa, who has returned to Bayern Munich. However, the deal did not come to fruition, AS correspondent Javier Matallanas reported.

Wolves, on the other hand, are optimistic about Traore becoming the next senior player to agree to a new contract with the club. Though his current deal with the English side will not run out until 2023, Wolves are keen to secure Traore's future, with talks of a new deal expected to take place over the next few weeks, Sky Sports reported.

At 24, Traore is extremely athletic and has been in fine form. He recently added more glitter to his soaring career by winning his first cap for Spain in the draw with Portugal on Wednesday.