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Bertrand Traore to leave Aston Villa on free transfer, £20m loss at Villa Park
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Bertrand Traore will leave Aston Villa on a free when his contract expires at the end of the season, according to Dan Bardell.
Speaking on Canal+ Afrique on Tuesday (31 October, via Orange Sport), the 28-year-old’s manager for Burkina Faso, Hubert Velud, said he must “find playing time again” as he prepares to represent his country at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
That has fuelled speculation around his future at Villa Park as the winger has been a bit-part player under Unai Emery this season after failing to make the starting lineup in any of his five appearances.
Bardell doesn’t believe Traore has been a “bad signing” for the Villa despite joining the club for £20million from Lyon in 2020, but he conceded that he isn’t a player that will be “massively missed” if he does leave the club.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I think he’ll probably be gone at the end of the season when I believe his contract is up. He’s a squad player, who will essentially come in and play the odd game in the Europa Conference League group stage and get minutes here and there in the Premier League.
“But realistically, he’s probably never going to be a starter for Villa. I think overall, he’s been a decent signing because his first season in terms of his goals and assists was pretty high in that lockdown season.
“Even last season when he was recalled from his loan, no one really expected to see anything of him, but he did score a couple of important goals. He scored the winners against Leicester away and Bournemouth at home, which were part of Villa’s journey into qualifying for Europe, so I actually don’t think he’s been a bad signing.
“Even though I think he cost around £20million, they have done okay out of him. He will end up leaving and going on a free, but I don’t think that’s one that will massively concern Villa because, as they are looking to build, some players who aren’t first-team players will fall by the wayside and Villa will look to improve.
“I’d expect him to go at the end of the season and everyone at Villa to wish him well with his career, but he won’t be one who’s massively missed because he isn’t going to get into Villa’s best lineup I don’t believe.”
In other Aston Villa news, a senior man may have quit before he was pushed out of Villa Park by Monchi.