Bertrand Traore must recapture Aston Villa 2020/21 form to force Unai Emery into selection headache
Since cutting his loan short at Istanbul Badaksehir to return to Aston Villa in the January transfer window, Bertrand Traore is yet to be awarded a single minute of Premier League action.
When Unai Emery and the Villa hierarchy sanctioned the winter departures of Danny Ings to West Ham and Cameron Archer on a loan move to Middlesbrough, the strategy to recall Traore on transfer deadline day was widely seen as a smart piece of business.
The 27-year-old has prior experience playing in the Premier League with Villa, is naturally best in the right-wing spot that Emery usually fields Leon Bailey in, and has allowed the club more time to explore further options for the summer transfer window.
However, for one reason or another, Traore has yet to impact proceedings at Villa Park.
The Burkina Faso international has quickly fallen beneath the likes of Bailey, Emi Buendia, Jhon Duran and even Philippe Coutinho in the pecking order of attackers, and even when chasing the game, Emery hasn’t chosen to call upon Traore.
There is an argument to say that Emery won’t field a player until he knows his tactical framework inside and out, but Duran and Alex Moreno have been offered glimpses of first-team football since joining the club in January.
If Traore wishes to make an impact on Villa’s distant push for European football, he must recapture his form from the 2020/21 Premier League season, which saw the winger score seven goals and provide six assists in 29 appearances. [WhoScored]
The electric form of the former Chelsea man in Villa’s first season back in the top flight of English football is better than current first-choice winger Bailey in almost every category.
Traore recorded 1.8 shots on goal per 90 minutes, compared to Bailey’s 1.6 this year, while also recording a higher pass success rate than his competitor.
The 27-year-old also managed to record more key passes (1.0) per game and complete more dribbles (1.4) than the mercurial Jamaican winger Emery is currently deploying.
Although this data is from over two years ago, Traore should still be in the prime of his career and only improved with more experience under his belt.
There is no questioning that Traore has the ability to force Emery into a selection dilemma, but the question remains if he can recapture his prior form from the Dean Smith days at Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, the club has been tipped to sign a new striker to aid their bid to return to European football.