Frustrated Barcelona player had to be calmed down by Xavi’s assistant coach

The past few weeks have been difficult for Barcelona winger Adama Traore as he has had to make do with minimal game-time.

Upon securing a return to Camp Nou in January, on loan from Wolves, the Spanish international made an immediate impact. His performances early in his second stint with Barça were key to the Catalans going through a resurgent period.

However, of late, Adama has been constantly overlooked by manager Xavi Hernandez, who has opted to stick with the front three of Ferran Torres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele for the most part.

On Sunday against Mallorca, the manager did opt to change things up, handing Memphis Depay a start ahead of Dembele, who came on as a substitute. There was also an appearance from the bench for the returning Ansu Fati, which is a huge boost for the Blaugrana.

However, Adama was left as an unused substitute. Since early March, the Wolves loanee has not started a single La Liga match and has been an unused substitute in four of Barça’s last four league games.

The situation has certainly not gone down too well with the Spanish international, who has grown frustrated, reports Santi Ovalle.

It is further claimed that Adama was spoken to by Xavi’s brother and assistant coach, Oscar Hernandez after the match against Mallorca in order to calm him down and reassure him.

In 15 appearances since his return in January, the 26-year-old Adama has assisted four goals. His pace and directness on the right side have caused problems to the opposition defence, while his end product also showed a marked improvement.

But with competition for places increasing, game-time has not been forthcoming for him in La Liga of late. Things are likely to be even more difficult now that Ansu Fati is back in the fold as well.

With Barcelona reportedly not planning to sign him permanently, it would not be a surprise to see Traore being used sparingly between now and the end of the campaign.