It was sealed with a picture of a bottle of baby oil perched one of the wooden seats in the Johnny Haynes Stand. That reference to the pre-match ritual that began as a ploy to protect Adama Traoré’s shoulder, which he had dislocated four times in a single season at Wolves, was the cheeky way in which the Whites announced that the speedy Spanish winger was coming to Craven Cottage. Fulham’s famous home was where the Barcelona-born forward had drove one of the last nails in the club’s Premier League coffin in 2021, scoring a superb stoppage time winner to condemn Scott Parker’s side to defeat in a must-win fixture, prompting floods of on-pitch tears from Mario Lemina – who ironically now calls Molineux home.

The 27 year-old, whose progression from the talented but inconsistent wide man had much to do with a personal WhatsApp schedule curated by Nuno Espirito Santo, remains one of the most rapid runners in the top flight. He’s delighted to have another chance to prove himself in the Premier League after leaving the Black Country at the end of his contract in the summer – and the prospect of reviving a profitable partnership with Raul Jimenez is pretty mouthwatering. But there’s more to the Spanish international than pace and power.

Traoré was always a highly-rated member of La Masia, the Barcelona academy where he gained his football education from the age of eight. He made his La Liga debut aged only eighteen, replacing Neymar in a 4-0 win over Granada at the Camp Nou, and shone as Barca’s under-19s won the first edition of the UEFA Youth League in 2014. The winger scored his first senior goal against Huesca in the Copa del Ray in December 2014 as the Blaugrana went on to win the competition.

His time in Barcelona grounded him, as a black Muslim, in the harsh realities of inequality and discrimination. Inspired as a young boy by the brilliance of Ronaldinho, he knew he could make it in football – speaking candidly about how he and his little brother would often play in youth five-a-side fixtures against friends who had been lured into the gang life amid the high Catalonian crime rates as well as the memory of his school days, where some children would simply shun him for the colour of his skin, and many clubs and bars were off limits as he became a young man.

Traoré, whose eloquence on the need to take a start against racism inspired Barcelona to take the knee last February, believes moving to England was the making of him. He loves a roast dinner – minus the pork, of course – and believes in the restorative powers of a cup of tea. His first taste of the Premier League was fleeting, eleven appearances and a single goal in the League Cup as Aston Villa were relegated in 2016, but his career really gained momentum when he became a potent weapon in the Middlesbrough side managed by Tony Pulis. He memorably ran Leeds ragged in March 2018 as Boro reached the play-off semi-finals, scoring five goals and contributing ten assists on his way to being voted Middlesbrough’s fans’ player of the season, young player of the year and winning the players’ player of the year award at the Riverside Stadium.

He moved to Wolves for a reported £18m and had an immediate impact – scoring the newly-promoted side’s first injury-time goal in the Premier League as they stunned West Ham at the Olympic Stadium, rifling home a lovely pass from Leo Bonatini. Traoré found the rest of his first season with Wolves tough, affected by injuries and Nuno’s switch to a system without wingers, which might he was largely in competition with wing-back Matt Doherty, who had an outstanding first top flight campaign. Far from being disheartened, the Spaniard knuckled down and impressed the Wolves coaching staff with his commitment to training – becoming a crucial part of the Wolves’ side that impressed in the Europa League.

The highlight would have to be a stunning double at Manchester City, where Traoré revelled in being moved from right wing-back, where he had coped well with Raheem Sterling to becoming Jimenez’s strike partner late in proceedings. He twice surged onto sumptuous passes from Jimenez to clinch a famous win over the champions – and found a new lease of life as a leader of the line. He scored his first Europa League goal in a 3-3 draw at Braga before bagging a beauty against Tottenham, which was his first goal at Molineux, and seemingly could only be stopped by the cynical and crude physicality of opponents.

Traoré also returned the compliment for Jimenez and together they forged a potent partnership. He provided vital assists against his old club Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Blackpool before turning a game at Southampton, where Wolves had gone 2-0, almost single-handedly. There was a brilliant ball that Jimenez majestically headed home against Liverpool at Molineux and a magnificent first goal at Wolves’ home ground against Spurs – all in a month where he romped to the PFA Player of the Year award. Jimenez and Traoré combined for twelve goals that season: a higher number than the vaunted combinations between Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero or Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino.

He struggled to replicate those sensational showings throughout the Covid pandemic, movingly admitting in one interview that he thrived on the roar of a crowd. There were still moments of magic, such as when he skinned Brighton defenders throughout the 90 minutes in an incredible individual display at the AMEX, and produced a piledriver against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. He was rewarded with the chance to represent Spain at Euro 2020 and, with his first-team minutes reduced, returned to Barcelona on loan. There was still an encore after he moved back to the Blackcountry, as he won vital points for new boss Julen Lopetegui as Wolves beat the drop. One mesmerising run set up Ruben Neves for a goal as the old gold lamped Liverpool 3-0, there was a special finish to secure a pivotal victory over Spurs and, in his last appearance at Molineux, a marauding run that provided a simple finish for Hee Chan Hwang against Everton.

Traoré, a winger who was loved in Wolverhampton both for his footballing ability and the special connection with the fans – which saw him regularly race youngsters with trollies in supermarket car parks and volunteer for community events with the local schools – reminds me of a Portuguese winger who could be excellent and erratic often in the same match. If Luis Boa Morte can pass on a few tricks of the trade, than the Spanish winger might prove to be more than a mere understudy to Harry Wilson along Fulham’s right flank. As Traoré himself tweeted after signing for Fulham, ‘we’re going to have fun together’. The Whites might not even need to stock up the baby oil – the Premier League’s version of ‘greased lightning’ is pretty difficult to stop in any case.