Nuno Tells Traoré to Ditch the Dumbbells: West Ham’s Powerhouse Put on a Gym Ban
Only Adama Traoré could be so monstrously built that the manager tells him to step away from the squat rack. Nuno Espírito Santo has revealed the Spaniard has been banned from pumping iron at West Ham’s training ground, with the new arrival urged to focus on staying lean, sharp and ready to strike.
Why the gym ban?
Traoré’s physique has long been the stuff of Premier League folklore — from wiry Barcelona prospect to a winger who looks like he’s been carved out of granite. He once insisted his frame was “genetic” and that he didn’t touch weights, but a recent social clip from team-mate Crysencio Summerville showing the winger grafting in the gym raised a few eyebrows.
Nuno, who knows Traoré well from their Wolverhampton days, has now laid down the law: keep the prevention work, skip the heavy lifting. The message is simple — he already carries plenty of power, and more bulk won’t make him better. In fact, the gaffer even pointed to Under-21 defender Airidas Golambeckis as the opposite case: a youngster who needs the iron to add muscle, whereas Traoré needs the handbrake on.
Slow start in claret and blue
Brought in from Fulham for around £2 million in January, Traoré’s West Ham story hasn’t fully kicked off yet. No Premier League starts so far, five outings featuring only from the bench, and a sole start coming in the FA Cup win over Burton Albion — a tidy but narrow 1-0 that offered glimpses rather than the full pyro show.
The method behind Nuno’s madness
Look, you don’t sign Adama for neat triangles in midfield — you sign him to terrify full-backs, pin defences and flip the game-state in seconds. The gym ban isn’t anti-fitness; it’s targeted. Keep him explosive, reduce the risk of those big hamstrings pinging, and sharpen the first five yards. For a player who thrives on separation over the first stride, the power-to-weight balance is everything.
Used right, he’s a late-game wrecking ball. Give him grass to run into, let him roll a defender on the touchline, and suddenly the byline is his playground. West Ham have been crying out for that one-v-one chaos merchant to tilt tight matches — Traoré can be that man if the minutes and the usage are spot on.
Fulham test and the next steps
As West Ham head to Craven Cottage, Nuno has talked up Traoré’s unique tools — pace, power, and that ability to cook a man on the dribble — while stressing patience. The coaching staff want him fully knitted into the team’s patterns before the starts arrive. He’s done it in England, he’s been in the Spain squad, and the ceiling hasn’t moved. It’s about timing now.
Fancy a flutter before West Ham’s midweek trip to Fulham? Check the best betting sites — but remember, the real value could be how Traoré is used off the bench. If he enters against tired legs, one run could decide the night.
Pundit’s verdict
This is smart man-management. Strip the excess, keep the dynamite. If Nuno gets the balance right, we’ll see less gym-floor heroics and more end-product on the pitch — cut-backs, corners won, chaos created. And when that first Premier League start lands, don’t be shocked if the weights ban ends up looking like the shrewdest call of his West Ham chapter.
