Steven Gerrard has claimed that the return of Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore will be like ‘two new signings’ for Aston Villa, as he told his press conference.
The Aston Villa boss has shared that Bailey, who has been out injured since December, is back in ‘full training’, whilst Traore is on his way back from Africa Cup of Nations duty.
But the duo won’t be available for selection ahead of Villa’s Premier League clash against Leeds tonight.
Despite that, it’s still positive news for those in B6 because it boosts Villa’s forward line even further.
This is what Gerrard had to say about the duo and the ‘frustration’ of being without them.
“We’ve now got Leon Bailey back in full training,” said Gerrard. “But he won’t be in the squad for tomorrow.
“Bertrand Traore’s in transit and on his way back from the Africa Cup of Nations.
“To get them back in the squad for the coming fixtures will be a big help and they’ll feel like two new signings because we haven’t seen much of them at all. That’s been a frustration for them and for us.”
Trézéguet and Anwar El Ghazi have now departed Villa on loan deals, so that probably signals they won’t play for the club again.
After Trézéguet returned from losing the AFCON final in Egypt colours, the club confirmed that he is heading out to Turkey and to İstanbul Başakşehir.
Despite that, Gerrard still has a number of high-quality attackers to choose from and it will be interesting to see how Bailey and Traore will fit into his plans.
For Traore, Villa have seen the composure and technical brilliance he can produce, it’s just a case of him doing it on a regular basis.
As for Bailey, he needs to stay away from the treatment room because his explosive nature in the final third complements what Villa have in their attacking line.
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