Aston Villa boss Unai Emery now wants to use Bertrand Traore in a position the winger has rarely played for the club. He recalled the forward from a loan spell to Istanbul Basaksehir.
That is according to Birmingham Live, which reports that Emery sees Traore stepping in as a centre-forward if ever required. The Spaniard chose to cut the Burkina Faso star’s stay in Turkey short during deadline day on Tuesday. He will also now take the Villans’ No9 jersey.
Traore previously had the No15 shirt but Alex Moreno took the number following the left-back’s transfer from Real Betis. So, the winger has taken over the shirt Danny Ings vacated after joining West Ham United. And Emery also now feels Traore can help to fill Ings’ void.
Emery feels Aston Villa signed a like-for-like replacement for Ings in Jhon Duran of Chicago Fire in January. But the Villa Park boss believes Traore can also provide cover for the striker and Ollie Watkins. The trio are the only senior Villans with previous experience in that role.
Traore will be unavailable to Emery when Aston Villa host Leicester City this Saturday due to an injury, though. Birmingham Live also reports that the forward is aiming to return from his knee injury for the Villans’ trip to Manchester City (February 12) or visit of Arsenal (the 18th).
Emery now plans to use Traore in a role he has rarely played for Aston Villa
Traore returned to Aston Villa in December to undergo treatment at Bodymoor Heath for his injury. Now, Emery has opted to recall the winger from his loan transfer to Basaksehir, where the 27-year-old offered three goals and an assist over his 18 games across all competitions.
Basaksehir boss Emre Belozoglu fielded Traore as a centre-forward in three of his outings. His efforts while featuring as a striker also led to one goal against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League. Traore came off the bench to strike during a 3-0 result during Group A.
Traore has only featured as a striker for Aston Villa twice since his £17m, plus £2m in add-ons, arrival from Lyon in September 2020. Dean Smith, who called the winger ‘marvellous’, introduced Traore centrally on one occasion. Steven Gerrard also did so in only one game.
Smith used Traore as a striker for the final 21 minutes of Aston Villa’s 3-0 defeat at Chelsea in September 2021. While Gerrard introduced the attacker through the middle at home to Liverpool in May 2022. He again failed to find the net during his nine minutes of a 2-1 loss.
But throughout Traore’s career, he has scored 39 and assisted 11 goals whilst featuring as a striker. Although 18 of his goals came during 28 of his appearances for Vitesse Arnhem over the 2013/14 and 14/15 seasons. He also scored 12 in 21 for Lyon between 2018 and 2020.
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