Unai Emery makes Bertrand Traore exit decision clear after new Aston Villa squad development
Aston Villa have submitted their 25-man squad to the Premier League for the 2023/24 campaign and Unai Emery seems to have made a possible exit decision on Bertrand Traore abundantly clear.
Traore, 28, spent the first half of last season on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir before being recalled by Unai Emery in the January transfer window.
The Burkina Faso international played 18 times in all competitions for Basaksehir, scoring three goals before returning to the West Midlands and netting twice in just first team eight appearances.
Traore started just once for Emery last season and so far this term, the ex-Chelsea forward has played for just nine minutes in the league, which was as a substitute against Burnley on 27 August.
The 27-year-old scored two crucial goals against Leicester and Nottingham Forest last season, with the strike against the Foxes earning three precious points in their successful quest to finish in the European places.
And there had been much talk regarding a possible exit from Villa Park [Birmingham Live, 17 July] as a result of his expected limited opportunities after the signings of Moussa Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo.
However, such exit possibilities have been put to bed by the former Villarreal coach with Emery including him in his 25-man Premier League squad for the season [Birmingham Live, 13 September] but there still remains doubts over his first team chances and a player of Traore’s qualities may not be satisfied with a limited role.
Also, in some of his performances when he did get opportunities last season he flattered to deceive and it’s why Emery shelled out big-money moves for Diaby.
Former Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton, speaking to Villa News on 13 September suggested that a return to Turkey may be good for Traore to further his career ahead of their transfer deadline day on Friday 15 September.
“When he went out on loan, I thought that would probably be his Villa career over but circumstances brought him back quicker, Hutton said.
“I think he probably did well enough in Turkey for other teams to be looking at him. It’s an option if somebody wants that kind of player and I’m sure he’d be up for it because he’s been there, seen it and knows what the league is like.
“It wouldn’t be a problem for him.“
In one of his recent outings for Villa – the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Wolves – the winger was extremely disappointing, failing to complete a single key pass, dribble or through ball to inject life into Villa’s play. [SofaScore]
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]
Traore has been a decent servant to the club, but he may no longer up to the standard that Aston Villa require this season. However, given the quick turnaround in games in the coming weeks and potential new injuries, Emery seems to have already made his decision.
The Burkina Faso forward looks to be staying at Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, a new signing has already held crunch talks with Emery and a BBC Sport pundit has reacted.