Aston Villa’s 2019/20 season was one of two halves. Pre-pandemic, Dean Smith’s side stuck to their principles with the expansive style of football which had served them well in the Championship, leading to entertaining games with plenty of goals for Villa, but unfortunately, too many for their opponents.
Post-lockdown, Villa changed their approach in order to survive; tightening up their leaky defence. The trade-off for this transition was a less dynamic attack, with Villa often looking pedestrian in possession. One reason for the anaemic goal tally that Villa compiled after Project Restart was the lack of contribution from their strikers; a problem which has been addressed this summer, with the acquisition of Ollie Watkins.
However, there was also a feeling amongst Villa fans that the team lacked creativity in the final third, beyond the routine brilliance of captain Jack Grealish. The powers that be at Villa Park have made a move to rectify this, with the signing of forward Bertrand Traore from Lyon for a reported £17m.
Profile:
Age- 25
Height- 5’11
Place of Birth- Burkina Faso
Position- Winger/Attacking Midfielder/General Forward
Previous Clubs- Chelsea, Lyon
Injury History- Missed 10 games for Lyon during 2017/18 season with knee injury
Like every one in three footballers, Traore is a former Chelsea youth product. He did actually spend some time with the first team though, making 16 appearances (10 in the Premier League) and sharing a dressing room with John Terry. After two loan spells Holland with Vitesse and Ajax, Traore was sold to Lyon in 2017 for around £9m and enjoyed instant success, registering 13 goals and 4 assists in his maiden season, grading as WhoScored’s 10th best Ligue 1 player.
The forward’s output has declined in the last two seasons, but overall, Traore contributed to 30 goals in 88 league appearances for Lyon, which is very solid production. He also outscored his expected goals (21 goals to 19.95 xG).
One of the more distinctive features of Bertrand Traore’s game is that he massively favours his left foot, as 16 of his 21 league goals for Lyon were scored with it. You would think being so heavily reliant on one foot would make him predictable, but you’d be wrong.
Generally playing on the right side, everyone in the stadium (which at the moment, is no-one) knows Traore wants to end up on his left foot, but figuring out how he’ll end up there, and then being able to stop it, is a different proposition.
Traore excels at all the elements of ball carrying; he possesses an effortless first touch and dancing feet, allowing him to turn out of impossibly tight spaces and as a YouTube video dedicated to him implied, “break ankles” with his ability to set up a defender using a burst of pace down the wing, only to stop suddenly and pivot back inside, exploiting the space he has created. Traore also boasts a wide arsenal of tricks and flicks and his tall, wiry frame allows him to hold off defenders, which will benefit him in the rough-and-tumble Premier League.
There’s no doubt about Traore’s ability; his highlights are as good as anyone’s, it’s his consistency that needs to improve. He attempted the 16th most dribbles of all Ligue 1 players for the 2019/20 season, but ranked outside the top 91% of wingers in terms of dribble success rate. Although his success rate was significantly better in previous campaigns, it has got worse each season that Traore has spent at Lyon, so Villa will need to reverse that trend if he is to be a successful signing. It’s a similar story in terms of his delivery, as he attempted the 16th most crosses in Ligue 1 but was outside of the top 70% of wingers in terms of accuracy.
Traore’s prowess with the ball at his feet enables him to get into dangerous areas, proven by his rank in the top 22% of Ligue 1 wingers for the 2019/20 season in terms of touches in the penalty area. This allowed him to put in the 12th most crosses to the 6-yard box of all Ligue 1 players for the 2019/20 season. Ollie Watkins, who scores a heap of goals from this area, will be rubbing his hands together.
Besides just the physical attributes, Traore’s fearless mentality should make him a welcome addition to Villa Park. This a player who has no reservations about expressing himself and won’t shy away from the ball; he genuinely looks like he’s having fun out on the pitch. Traore doesn’t wait for someone else to create an opportunity for him, he sets out to create one for himself.
A positive player who loves to drive at defenders and test them, Traore is a risk taker but is also intelligent, routinely spotting openings to slip a pass through to a teammate, ranking in the top 10% of Ligue 1 wingers for the 2019/20 season in terms of passes to the penalty area.
Based on Traore’s skillset, it’s easy to see why Villa’s recruitment team are enamoured. The prospect of Traore drawing the attention of a defender, whilst fellow new signing Matty Cash jets past him on the overlap, is a tantalising one. It’s foolhardy to attempt to predict how a new signing will pan out, as there are so many factors that play into it, but there’s no doubt that Traore has the tools to be a hit.
Traore is bound to frustrate supporters at times, but that comes with the territory of the position he plays. Not everything he tries will come off, but the one or two times per game that it does could be the difference. In Bertrand Traore, Aston Villa are getting a player that is exciting to watch and is capable of making something out of nothing, two ingredients that Villa were often fresh out of in 2019/20.
The Villa Ramble 
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