Boubacar Traore's Wolves loan to be made permanent in the summer in £9.5m deal

As the Express & Star revealed back in December, an appearance clause in the deal to bring the midfielder from French club Metz in the summer has already been triggered.

Now, Wolves have confirmed the midfielder will become a permanent signing in the summer when his four-year contract will begin. The club also hold the option of a further 12 months.

Sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “The way the deal was structured, Bouba was always going to become our player, but to be able to make it official is very satisfying. For me, it’s a really exciting signing and I think we can all see he’s been a real success so far.

“Bouba was a player we had wanted for a while, and I took many trips over to France to watch him. He was someone we looked at bringing into the club this time last year, and although it wasn’t possible then, we worked hard to bring him in during the summer.

“We felt his energy, his enthusiasm and pace from the middle of the pitch would be really important, but we also knew his ceiling was high. He was a young lad who had moved from Mali, he’d had limited coaching at Metz, and we knew the technical side of his game would improve once he joined us, and we’ve already started seeing improvements in that area of his game.”

Since joining Wolves, the 21-year-old has also become a full Mali international after playing 90 minutes in a 1-1 friendly draw against Algeria in November.

Hobbs added: “What’s most exciting is that there’s so much more to come from him, especially working under Julen and his staff.

“From my perspective and from the coaching staff’s perspective, Bouba’s development is still in the early stages. Physically he’ll get stronger, he’ll get more explosive and he’ll also keep improving technically with his game understanding.

“But we’re really happy with him. We believed in what he had, and although we know there is still plenty to develop, he’s only 21 and he’s still adapting. His English is getting better and he’s getting more comfortable all the time, but he’s settled well into the group, he’s happy here, and when you see him around the training ground he’s always smiling, which shows the kind of person he is.

“It also shows the good work of Ben Wrigglesworth and his recruitment team, in that their identification of him was right and that the identification and recruitment fits the model of a player we didn’t have and we’ve probably not had for a while. Every team needs that energy in the middle of the park, and we have that in him.

“But I’m really glad he’s here and I’m excited to see what he can do for the club during his Wolves career.”

Traore is currently sidelined with a groin injury, which head coach Julen Lopetegui said would keep him out for 'one to two months' when it was revealed at the start of January.