Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore is reportedly set to be recalled from his loan spell with Istanbul Basaksehir.
The 27-year-old joined Villa from Lyon in September 2020, and went on to contribute eight goals and seven assists in 48 appearances for the club.
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However, after falling down the pecking order and having played a limited role, he was shipped out on loan last summer by former boss Steven Gerrard, as he went on to score three goals and provide one assist in 18 outings for Basaksehir.
While he returned to Villa earlier this month to receive treatment after suffering an injury, The Telegraph’s John Percy has now reported that Villa are set to recall Traore from his loan stint in Turkey, and he will be involved in Unai Emery’s plans for the rest of the season.
It’s added that given Emery has spoken publicly about wanting to bring in a winger this month, Traore could be a straight-forward solution for him in the short term as he can assess what he can offer him moving forward.
Percy also notes that Villa intend to do their main business in the summer with prices for our targets very high this month.
Emery has never wavered from his stance that he only wants to bring in new players if they significantly improve the squad, and so if the targets that he wanted this month were too expensive and sensible deals couldn’t be done, then it’s fair to wait and try to bring them, or available alternatives, in the summer.
That said, there is also fair concern from some quarters that we have left ourselves too light in terms of depth and competition to sustain our push for a European qualification spot having green lit several exits, and so additional arrivals after Alex Moreno and Jhon Duran had been hoped for.
Traore could seemingly now emerge as a temporary solution to one of Emery’s main areas of focus, and it’s hoped that once he has recovered from the injury that he suffered in Turkey, he can be an important option off the bench at the very least even if he continues to struggle to cement his place in the Villa XI again having been handed a fresh chance under a manager.
Traore recall is an obvious solution for Emery, who had made a winger a priority this month. With prices for his targets v high, bringing a player back who is already contracted to the club makes sense so he can see him up close. Villa intend to do their main business in summer
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) January 31, 2023