Why Barcelona Are Right to Consider Selling Adama Traore

Adama Traore has been knocking on the first-team door at Barcelona for what seems like ages now.

It was back in 2012 during the NextGen tournament, a forerunner of the UEFA Youth League, that the youngster came to wider prominence thanks to some dazzling performances.

Tottenham Hotspur were just one club whose defenders were destroyed by the pace and power of Barca's wide man.

However, in the three years since, Traore hasn't progressed as well as everyone at the club might have hoped.

Sandro Ramirez, who scored two on the night against Spurs, has begun to make his mark at the senior level, and Munir El Haddadi's rise came out of nowhere. But that has left Traore with nowhere to go.

Too good for Barca B, now relegated to the Segunda B division, equivalent to England's League One, he isn't yet good enough for an extended run in the first team.

Such is the makeup of the seniors at present that even a handful of matches is probably beyond him, and that probably says much more about the direction the club are taking than about the player himself.

According to Sport (h/t Chris Beesley of the Liverpool Echo), it appears Barca have finally made a conscious decision to allow the player to continue his development elsewhere.

"

Adama is set to be sold to Liverpool, Barcelona will have a buyback clause on his contract, similar to Deulofeu. This is it then.

— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) August 3, 2015"

The paper notes that the player is flying in to Liverpool to conclude a deal with the Reds, although it is unclear whether it will be a loan or permanent arrangement at this stage. 

Although a jump straight into Liverpool's first team is unlikely, the chance of regular employment there is much higher at this juncture than if he were to stay in Catalonia.

B/R's Matt Jones even suggests that Aston Villa could well be Traore's actual destination.

In any event, Ajinkya Koshti of SportsKeeda recalled the clause in Adama's contract that saw a promotion to Barca's first team as of July 2015.

Whilst there are facets of his game that are coveted and desirable, he is no Neymar or Lionel Messi, and the player couldn't possibly think that he could become an immediate first-team regular at the expense of either player.

Similarly, if Luis Enrique were to consider him in a right wing-back role, he already has Dani Alves in situ and Aleix Vidal chomping at the bit to rival the Brazilian for a starting spot come January.

Factor in that Sergi Roberto has played there in pre-season and is much further forward in his own development, and that Pedro Rodriguez might be considered for the role if he stays at the club and we begin to understand the wider picture that faces Traore.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

It's a picture that is beginning to be painted squad-wide for Barca B graduates. Alen Halilovic and his potential move to West Ham United, per Tom Conn of Inside Spanish Football, is another prime example.

For a club that takes great pride in its production of talent from its La Masia academy, the current situation is wholly unsatisfactory.

But like it or not, it is a situation that needs addressing. 

It is criminal to expect Traore to continue to bide his time in the reserves with no chance of meaningful integration into the first team in the short term or longer.

At least if he were to join Liverpool or Villa, Brendan Rodgers or Tim Sherwood would afford him every opportunity to break into the senior setup.

In fact, whatever might be said about the Northern Irishman's forays into the transfer market, there is no doubt that as a true football man, he has a knack for developing and nurturing bright young talent—which he undoubtedly honed at Chelsea under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.

Sherwood is rapidly becoming known as a similar exponent of youth.

Although a sale wouldn't benefit Barca themselves, it would give the highly prized Traore the chance to flourish, and no club in the world should stand in a youngster's way on that basis.

If nothing else, the Catalans can satisfy themselves that they were able to play a significant part in his development to this point.

Equally, this precise situation should serve as a lesson to the club if they want to continue on a path of "Galactico" type signings.