Sometimes a football player’s career doesn’t really matter. For Bertrand Traoré, this little something is called Unai Emery. Not fitting into Steven Gerrard’s plans, the former Lyonnais leaves for Turkey in Istanbul Başakşehir in August 2022. After six decent months on the banks of the Bosphorus (12 matches – 2 goals in Super Lig), the Stallion breaks against all waiting for his loan to return to Aston Villa in the last days of the winter transfer window.
Unai Emery has demanded his return to Aston Villa
Not at all a decision to be credited to the Turkish club, quite the contrary. If he returned to Birmingham at the end of January, it was at the express request of the Spanish technician who appreciates the Burkinabe international and who wishes to make him a reinforcement of weight and experience for his team. Injured in the knee, Bertrand Traoré (27 years old) resumed training in February and returned to the group at the beginning of March and began to find the grounds of the Premier League. After two appearances against West Ham then Bournemouth, the new n°9 of the Vilains joined Burkina Faso and played 2 matches in the CAN qualifiers as a starter.
Encouraged by this international break, Bertrand Traoré returns even stronger to England. 85th minute of the match against Leicester where the two teams are tied 1-1. In the race for a European place, Villa must absolutely win to keep in touch with the leading wagon of the Premier League. This is the moment chosen by Unai Emery to bring Traoré from the sidelines. Less than two minutes after entering the game, he placed a marvelous curling shot from the left more than twenty meters away which lobbed the poor Foxes goalkeeper. The stadium exults and Bertrand Traoré is celebrated like never before.
2 goals in 2 matches and in 67 minutes of playing time
Result 2-1 victory and a beautiful tribute paid by the former PSG coach to his one-night striker. “We are very happy with Bertrand Traoré. He is very popular in the locker room. Everyone loves him. He decided to help us when he came back from Turkey and everyone appreciates the guy he is and how he can help us like he did today. Because yes, not only is the Burkinabé decisive on the pitch, but he is also gaining significant weight in the locker room of the current 6th in the Premier League.
A performance followed by another remarkable against Nottingham Forest. Again, when he comes into play in the 28th minute, it is he who delivers his second goal in two matches when the score is 0-0. With 2 goals in 2 matches in 67 minutes of playing time, Bertrand Traoré thus regains his standards seen during his first season at Aston Villa (7 goals in 36 Premier League matches in 2020-21) or even during his debut at OL (13 goals in 31 L1 matches in 2017-18). Something to delight Unai Emery who proves with this masterstroke that an English club does not need to spend a fortune to bring real added value to its workforce in the middle of the winter transfer window…
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