Boro boss Karanka looking to add tactical nous to Traore’s game

Aitor Karanka insists the sky’s the limit for Adama Traore – as long as the speedster adds tactical nous to his game.

There was plenty for Karanka and Middlesbrough to shout about in the 0-0 draw at Arsenal last weekend, none more so then the full debut of Traore.

The winger caused the Gunners all sorts of problems, with Opta clocking the former Barcelona man running at more than 34km/h – the seventh fastest player this season.

And Boro boss Karanka is adamant Traore, who he signed for £5million from Aston Villa, is on the road to stardom, even if he still has some things to learn.

“It’s not easy because sometimes when you change one player for another it is almost the same or a small difference, but with Adama it is a big difference,” said Karanka.

“Because with him we have a lot of pace and sometimes we need that pace, but we sometimes lose tactically on the pitch so we are trying to educate him on the training pitch and use the video so it’s just got to keep going because when he has the tactical knowledge, with his skill set he can be an amazing player.

“An opposition manager could take advantage of his disorganisation on the pitch so for that reason we have to keep calm with him because he gives us a lot of things but the other side we are losing something, so I need to think.”