Wow, you really have a very bad judgement on him.. I never see him play in Portsmouth but when he first play for Arsenal in several Carling Cup like 3 years ago, i pretty much rate him as a talented fullback..
I don't know if the reason he is loaned out to Portsmouth is because his development is stuck. I see it because there emergence of Gibbs.
If you say that his defending ability is a liability. For me, he is much like Clichy. Clichy is also a speedy LB that like to run forward but his defensive ability is such a liability. But at this time Clichy has a better match experience than Traore
No, Clichy showed his promise as a youngster, while i agree Clichy can be a liability sometimes, he is quite a useful fullback. Gibbs has shown promise too, especially in the attacking side of his game.
When i first saw Traore 4 years ago in the Carling Cup he used to be a promising young fullback, but he has barely developed ever since. The guy is simply not a defender, he cannot track runs if his life depended on it, his positioning is extremely poor, the only thing that helps him in defense is his pace.
Like Red said Brum want him on loan, Juventus want him on loan with an option to buy. If we plan on keeping him(i doubt it), then we should send him to Brum, as he would start over there