Bertrand Traore can fill Aston Villa attacking void after injury expert delivers Leon Bailey assessment
Leon Bailey’s torrid time at Aston Villa went from bad to worse when he was subbed off after 25 minutes against Nottingham Forest on Saturday (8 April) with a suspected hamstring injury.
The Jamaican has been a mercurial presence in Unai Emery’s ranks since arriving at Villa Park in October, showing flashes of promise but often underwhelming in a front two with Ollie Watkins.
After starting the game at Villa Park against Nottingham Forest brightly, Bailey crumpled to the ground clutching his hamstring after pinging in a cross to Watkins on the counter-attack.
Taking to Twitter during the match injury expert Ben Dinnery tweeted his thoughts on the injury, writing: “Muscle injury. Ham-PING”.
If this diagnosis is correct and Bailey is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, the door has been left ajar for fellow attacker Bertrand Traore to barge down.
The former Chelsea academy product, who was recalled from his loan at Istanbul Basaksehir in January due to a lack of alternative attacking options at Villa Park, netted his second goal in as many games after coming from the bench to replace Bailey.
During his 62-minute cameo, the Burkina Faso International had three shots on goal, recorded a 91% pass success rate and netted the crucial opening goal with a well-taken left-footed strike. [WhoScored]
This followed up the stunning injury-time 25-yard strike that helped Villa secure what could be a season-defining win against Leicester City in midweek.
Seemingly, Traore is ready to take the mantle as Aston Villa’s new kid on the block and rediscover his vintage form from the behind-closed-doors season of 2020/21, which saw the attacker score seven goals and register seven assists from 36 appearances.
During that season, the attacker averaged an impressive 1.4 dribbles per game, as well as recording 1.8 shots and providing 1 key pass per outing.
If Traore can get close to matching this output during Aston Villa’s final eight games of the Premier League season, he could force his way above Leon Bailey in Emery’s pecking order.
One man’s misfortune is another man’s joy, after all.
In other Aston Villa news, the return of Diego Carlos could lead to a system change under Emery.