West Ham may still be without Crysencio Summerville for the crucial clash with Wolves — but Adama Traoré’s performance against Leeds United has given Nuno Espírito Santo something to think about.
The Dutch winger has been missing since the FA Cup win over Brentford, and the drop-off in West Ham’s attacking threat has been obvious. Heading into the quarter-final at the London Stadium, the big question was simple — would Summerville be fit?
After the game, Nuno offered little encouragement. The West Ham boss confirmed Summerville is still being assessed day by day, with no guarantee he’ll be ready for Wolverhampton Wanderers. And the reality is, losing a player of his quality at this stage of the season is the last thing we need.
Adama Traoré steps up as West Ham find unexpected attacking spark
That said, West Ham may have stumbled across a solution.
Adama Traoré was excellent.
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As Jarrod Bowen said after the game, “I thought Adama was brilliant from start to finish today” — and it’s hard to argue with that. His strength, pace, and direct running caused Leeds problems all afternoon and well into extra time.
There were doubts when he arrived from Fulham in January. Let’s be honest, he looked miles off it fitness-wise. But credit to the coaching and conditioning staff — he now looks sharp and capable of playing at full throttle.
He got through 90 minutes and most of extra time at a very high level, which is highly encouraging.
Traore was brilliant from start to finish for West Ham
Traoré performance gives West Ham real option if Summerville misses Wolves
What really stood out, though, was his end product.
In short, Traoré’s crosses caused mayhem in the Leeds defence.
We know what Traoré brings physically, but his delivery was a genuine threat. He picked up an assist for Axel Disasi and, in truth, should have had another if Taty Castellanos had taken his chance.
That’s where this becomes important for West Ham.
Missing Summerville is a blow — no doubt about it. But Traoré has now given Nuno a credible alternative on the left-hand side.
And if Summerville doesn’t make it for Wolves, West Ham suddenly don’t look quite as short in that position as we did a few days ago.