Anthony Onifade

Thu 13 July 2023 19:10, UK

Aston Villa are currently in conversations with Nottingham Forest to sign Brennan Johnson which now means Bertrand Traore’s days at Bodymoor Heath are incredibly numbered.

According to the Daily Mail (13 July), conversations have already taken place between Villa and Forest and both parties are interested should a deal be viable, with fellow Premier League outfit Brentford also interested in Johnson’s services too.

It’s been reported that Forest are willing to sell their prized asset this summer because of their Financial Fair Play concerns and a fee of around £40m should be enough to seal a potential switch across the Midlands.

Unai Emery’s desperate need for attacking reinforcements have been well-documented since his appointment, with the Spaniard still impressively managing to secure European football for the Villans, despite possessing a depleted attacking weaponry at Villa Park.

However, in order to take Aston Villa to that next level in the forthcoming campaign, the Spaniard will be seeking out quality replacements in the transfer window to significantly bolster his squad, and that certainly means Burkino Faso forward Traore’s days as a Villa player are in serious jeopardy.

Since returning to Villa Park in the January transfer window, the attacker’s impact has been limited to a string of brief cameo appearances and two Premier League starts that lasted just 62 minutes and 45 minutes a piece.

After being signed by Aston Villa for a fee of £17million in 2020 and initially impressing under Dean Smith, Traore was ostracised from the first-team set-up under Steven Gerrard and sent on a loan to Istanbul Basaksehir. [Sky Sports]

However, after missing out on his initial targets in the January transfer window, Emery recalled the attacker to bolster the attacking ranks and squad depth at Villa Park.

After recovering from an initial niggle, he had a surprising impact that few Villa fans would have imagined, netting the match-winner in the 2-1 win over Leicester City and scoring a game later against Nottingham Forest, but things went sour from then on.

In the last eight games of the season, in which the race for European football reached its climax, Traore amassed a mere 108 minutes of action, remaining an unused substitute on four occasions.

In his last outing for Villa – the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Wolves – the winger delivered an extremely disappointing and under-par performance, failing to complete a single key pass, dribble or through ball to inject life into Villa’s play. [WhoScored]

What was possibly more of an indication of the lack of confidence and attacking impetus Traore possesses was the fact that he carried the ball on 24 occasions, but just one of these was classed as a progressive carry. Over his last five appearances for Villa, Traore has only managed to amass seven progressive carries out of 44 attempted. [FBREF]

Over his last five appearances for Villa, Traore has only managed to amass seven progressive carries out of 44 attempted [FBREF].

If Aston Villa are to make an impression both on the European front and in the Premier League simultaneously, Emery will need rapid consistency from all of his frontmen as the quick turnover of games will be new territory for the whole club.

The Villans can no longer afford attacking passengers in the team, and it’s no wonder why they are seeking a move for the attacking talents of Johnson. The Welshman represents a stark upgrade on Traore, given his superb consistencies for Forest last season, even when the relegation-threatened side desperately needed him.

The same can’t be said of Traore, who despite his experience and years ahead of Johnson, failed to set Villa Park alight.

When comparing the former Chelsea academy graduate’s impact compared to his counterparts Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia, the gulf in class is clear.

According to WhoScored, Traore has averaged a measly 0.1 successful dribbles per outing compared to Bailey’s total of 1.2 and Buendia’s 0.7, while also only managing 0.1 key passes per game, which is considerably lower than both the Jamaican’s 0.9 and Buendia’s impressive 1.1.

The same can be argued when comparing him to Johnson’s attacking stats also, with the Welshman averaging 0.7 key passes, 0.9 dribbles and a whopping 1.4 shots last season. [WhoScored]

Traore has been a brilliant servant to the club, but he is no longer up to the standard that Aston Villa require. With much change expected around Villa Park this summer, the club certainly won’t hesitate to accept any kind of proposal to get Traore out of the club this summer.

His days are now very numbered in West Midlands.

In other Aston Villa news, Diego Carlos may have to fight for his place after Pau Torres update emerges.