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Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has suffered a huge transfer blow with Barcelona set to steal top target Adama Traore from under his nose before Monday’s deadline.
Spurs are now focusing on an ambitious swoop for Porto forward Luis Diaz — but the disappointment of missing out on the Wolves winger hit the Premier League club hard yesterday.
Traore had been earmarked by Conte and Tottenham’s recruitment team, and there was confidence that a deal could be concluded. Talks between Spurs and Wolves were held for weeks with the expectation that Traore would move to north London.
Wolves winger Adama Traore is set to rejoin Barcelona seven years after leaving for Aston Villa
The news comes as a major blow to Antonio Conte, who wanted to bring Traore to Tottenham
The Molineux club valued Traore at around £26million — but there was a feeling at Spurs that they could get him for around £20m. Traore’s contract expires at the end of the next season and Spurs believed they had enough leverage to secure a lower price.
During talks Tottenham tried to use Matt Doherty, who only signed from Wolves at the start of last season, as a makeweight in the deal — but Bruno Lage wasn’t interested in bringing the Republic of Ireland international back.
Spurs also tried to convince Wolves to let them have Traore on loan with an obligation to buy permanently in the summer, but that didn’t prove
