Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that Leon Bailey will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash against Brighton which could force the Spaniard into introducing Bertrand Traore from the Villa Park cold.
The Spaniard also confirmed during his press conference [via Birmingham Live] on Friday (29 September) that fan favourite Jacob Ramsey faces a late fitness test ahead
Ramsey made a return from injury earlier this month and featured in the defeat at Legia Warsaw and in the 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend but wasn’t involved against Everton in midweek due to injury and is a doubt for Saturday.
Traore, 28, spent the first half of last season on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir before being recalled by Unai Emery in the January transfer window.
The Burkina Faso international played 18 times in all competitions for Basaksehir, scoring three goals before returning to the West Midlands and netting twice in just first team eight appearances last season.
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Traore started just once for Emery last season and so far this term, the ex-Chelsea forward has played for just nine minutes in the league, which was as a substitute against Burnley on 27 August.
The 27-year-old scored two crucial goals against Leicester and Nottingham Forest last season, with the strike against the Foxes earning three precious points in their successful quest to finish in the European places.
And there had been much talk regarding a possible exit from Villa Park [Birmingham Live, 17 July] as a result of his expected limited opportunities after the signings of Moussa Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo.
However, such exit possibilities were put to bed by the former Villarreal coach after Traore was included in his 25-man Premier League squad for the season [Birmingham Live, 13 September] as a backup option at least.
However, with injuries to Bailey and Ramsey, the Brighton encounter may just be the Burkina Faso international’s chance to stake his claim again, but he’s got a lot to do to convince the Villa Park faithful that he’s a worthy contender for a starting berth.
In one of his recent outings for Villa last season – the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Wolves – the winger was extremely disappointing, failing to complete a single key pass, dribble or through ball to inject life into Villa’s play. [SofaScore]
What was possibly more of an indication of the lack of confidence and attacking impetus Traore possesses was the fact that he carried the ball on 24 occasions, but just one of these was classed as a progressive carry.
Over his last six appearances for Villa, Traore has only managed to amass seven progressive carries out of 44 attempted [FBREF], a stat which may prove why Emery is always hesitant to even include him in his matchday squad.
Now, the Spaniard may have no choice but to include him, with Bailey and possibly Ramsey out of action.
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton can’t work out the manager’s intentions after a “strange” decision backfired on a big night.
