From Paris to the world - football's hottest talent factory
Post-war immigration from football-loving former French colonies in north and west Africa is the obvious reason why Ile-de-France - as suburban Paris is known - is such a remarkable football factory.
Traore was born in Paris before moving to Guinea, settling back in the French capital from the age of four with his mother and siblings.
"You have a lot of people from North Africa round here; we used to say they are the real street footballers," he adds.
"Then you have a lot of Senegalese, Guinean, Malian people round here. In the summer, we used to do an Africa Cup. All the Guinean players would be in one team. All the Malian players, they will be in one team. Ivory Coast… whatever you want. It's crazy, because everyone is defending his country, and then it's just insane."
It was during one of these informal tournaments that a local scout spotted Traore and set him on the path of a professional career.
But that influx of talent and culture also emerged into an environment perfect for super-charging player development.
A local government policy of building high-quality football facilities in every Paris banlieue, partly to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble, has been fundamental to making the sport cheap and accessible to all.
"You come down from your building and you have a football field, so the first thing you do is go play football," says Abdelaziz Kaddour, sports director of FC Montfermeil 93, a thriving club in Seine Saint-Denis, a suburban Paris region with one of the highest crime and unemployment rates in France.
Abdelaziz and Montfermeil oversaw the development of Arsenal defender William Saliba after he transferred from nearby AS Bondy, the club where France superstar Kylian Mbappe played as a child.
"Young people round here play football practically all day long," says Abdelaziz.
"And on top of that, most of the pitches are small. That means, they touch the ball a lot. They learn to dribble. And over time, it gives them a lot of quality, dribbling, speed, seeing things before others, tackling, intensity.
"And what's more, they want to make a living from football. They have the spirit. When you ask them the question, they want to be professional footballers at all costs.
"This is not an easy place to live. Many families are in difficulty. The children know it and give their all to succeed. It builds a mentality and that perhaps makes the difference, in addition to talent."
