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Bertrand Traore must be sold by Aston Villa in January, Unai Emery will not look back
Aston Villa are certainly going well in all competitions this season, with a real squad effort developing under Unai Emery.
One key part of that squad has been an exciting attack, with the likes of Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby shining in particular.
But one attacker who has failed to impress under Emery is Bertrand Traore, although the winger hasn’t exactly had many opportunities to do so.
The 28-year-old, who joined Villa from Lyon for £17m plus £2m in add-ons in 2020 [Sky Sports, 19 September 2020], has featured for a miserable 41 minutes this season.
Current manager Emery is clearly not a fan of an attacker who was brought to Villa Park by former manager Dean Smith.
The Spaniard will, therefore, have little difficulty in parting ways with the player, which he must do in January in order to avoid losing him for free.
Traore’s contract with the Midlands club expires next summer, so it certainly makes sense to ship him out in the upcoming window.
The winger’s longest spell on the pitch this season came in the 3-1 win against Burnley in August, where late substitute Traore was handed just nine minutes of game time.
During those nine minutes, the attacker made just two passes, completing only one, failing to complete his only attempted long pass [Sofascore]. Moreover, he did not register any shots or tackles, and lost possession of the ball twice during his brief cameo.
In stark comparison, starting winger Diaby scored and clinched an assist, as well as completing 88% of his passes, two of which were key [Sofascore].
In more bad news for Traore, fellow attacker Emiliano Buendia will at one point return to the side after he fully recovers from his knee ligament injury.
That is certain to push the former down the pecking order even further, with Leon Bailey also undoubtedly ahead of Traore in Emery’s plans.
In other Aston Villa news, an 11% Villa man must be forced out of the club, Emery has no other choice.