Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore has struggled for consistency since arriving at the Riverside Stadium under Aitor Karanka but his talent has never been in doubt. 

New Boro boss Tony Pulis has brought him to the forefront of the first-team picture in his short time at the club and Traore has responded with some blistering performances.

He terrorised Fulham starlet Ryan Sessegnon as Boro dominated the Cottagers on Saturday but contrived to lose 1-0 to a stoppage-time Ollie Norwood penalty and his staggering pace is his main asset.

He only has four assists and is yet to score for Boro this season and has picked that lack of end product out as an area where he needs to improve in order to impress the former Stoke City, West Brom and Crystal Palace manager.

Traore also made the effort to thank the Boro fans for how they have been with him, even in his more inconsistent periods under Aitor Karanka when the Spaniard felt that Traore had to play on the touchline in front of him so he could talk him through the game.

He told the club's official websiteHonestly with me the Middlesbrough fans are so good and it makes me proud. When I came to England, the fans were good with me.

I say thank you to them for all their support and I will be trying to work hard to give something back for the love they have given me.

"For me personally, I need to assist and score as well and I need to focus on this as well."

The Verdict

I am a massive admirer of Traore and I think he has the quality to be as good as any player in this division.

He needs consistency and he also needs a manager who will trust him and if he adds the goals and assists he speaks of here, he will become unstoppable and a massive part of Boro's promotion push.

Boro fans - what do you make of Traore's comments? Let us know in the comments below...