Aston Villa receive £17m player boost as Leeds clash nears

Follow us on Google Discover

Aston Villa have received a significant player boost ahead of their return to action against Leeds next week, as Bertrand Traore’s Burkina Faso lost their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Senegal.

Plenty of Villa fans likely wanted to see one of their players show up well at the high profile tournament and it was no doubt a great honour for Traore to captain his nation in Cameroon.

However, due to it falling mid-season, AFCON is always a pain for European clubs and realistically, as far as they are concerned, the sooner their players return the better.

Burkina Faso are the eleventh best ranked African nation, so they certainly weren’t fancied to make it to the semi-finals.

Yet they did so, despite failing to score more than one goal in any single game.

Traore played his part, notching an assist in their group opener against Cameroon and making up for a penalty miss by scoring in their Last 16 clash against Gabon.

Aston Villa player boost as Traore’s Burkina Faso lose AFCON semi

However, Wednesday night’s final four clash against a star-studded Senegal team would prove to be a step too far, with the Lions of Teranga triumphing 3-1.

Traore did receive the highest SofaScore rating of any Burkina Faso player, though, with 7.2.

He played one key pass, hit the target with a shot, won five of his six ground duels, drew three fouls and completed two clearances across the 90 minutes.

And now, his return to England is nearing.

Burkina Faso are due to take part in a third-place play-off against either Cameroon or Egypt on Saturday night, but the timing of that game, which falls a day before the final, boosts his chances of making it back in time to face Leeds.

It’s also unclear how seriously coach Kamou Malo intends to take the match, so Traore could play a reduced role or may not take part at all.

The 26-year-old only featured twice under Steven Gerrard prior to AFCON due to injury, but now that he’s back up to full fitness, he’ll be a welcome addition to the Villa manager’s squad.

While he perhaps didn’t quite live up to his £17m price tag during his first season in Birmingham, his return of seven goals and seven assists showed that he’s certainly capable of making contributions in the Premier League.