Aston Villa have taken a turning point since the arrival of Unai Emery in October 2022, with the Spaniard imprinting his guidance and values on the squad for the benefit of the club.
Despite rocketing the side he inherited from Steven Gerrard from 16th in the Premier League table to 7th by the end of the 2022/23 campaign, the former Arsenal boss has a long way to go in terms of perfecting his squad.
The new additions of the summer transfer window identified the calibre of player that Emery wants in his side, with such quality not yet resonating throughout the side he took over from those before him.
By offloading big-earner Philippe Coutinho to Qatar on loan this summer, the manager began to weave through the deadwood at Villa Park, with another name the subject of a potential exit during the window.
Winger Bertrand Traore was said to be wanted by Turkish side Samsunspor in the summer, after featuring in the Super Lig during a loan spell with Basaksehir last term, however the move was not sanctioned.
How much have Aston Villa spent on Bertrand Traore?
Signed by Dean Smith in 2020, Traore was part of a £17m deal from Olympique Lyonnais as the former Villa manager aimed to bolster his side’s options going forward.
The former Chelsea attacker was familiar with the demands of the Premier League, making the capture a strong one, with him penning a four-year deal worth £77k-per-week, making him the club’s fourth-highest paid player at the time.
In the time that he has been at Villa Park, the Midlands side have spent a total of over £29m to keep Traore at the club – including his initial transfer fee – where he has accumulated a wage bill of over £12m since his arrival, collecting just over £4m-per-year.
Having made just 59 appearances in all competitions over three years, it’s difficult to conclude that, so far, the rising figure spent on the winger has been worth it across those 159 weeks.
Has Bertrand Traore been worth it?
Things got off to a swimming start for Traore at Villa in the 2020/21 campaign, where he scored seven goals and registered seven assists in his first Premier League season with the Midlands club.
Since then, the forward has only found the net two times, with injury and lack of form seeing him drop down the pecking order, most notably during Gerrard’s reign.
Described as being a player that either performs in a “sublime or terrible” fashion by journalist Sam Tighe, Traore admitted that he had “trouble” when playing under the former manager, via The Athletic.
Placing all of those factors aside, the inconsistent forward is still trying to find a way back into the scenery at Villa Park, however with just ten goals in three years, it’s difficult to determine just how much the club are willing to fund a possible resurrection.
Bertrand Traore Aston Villa Premier League record
Season
Apps
Goals
Assists
2020/21
36
7
7
2021/22
9
0
0
2022/23
8
2
0
2023/24*
1
0
0
Figures via Transfermarkt
When dividing his overall cost of £29m by the goals he has collected to date, it works out that the 28-year-old has received around £2.9m-per-goal from NSWE, suggesting that things just haven’t worked out for him following Smith’s exit.
Now that players able to play out wide have been signed in the form of Nicolo Zaniolo and Moussa Diaby, it’s uncertain when the Burkina Faso international will have the chance to shine under Emery, enough to warrant his hefty salary.