Bertrand Traore’s revival is helping Aston Villa dreams come true

Bertrand Traore is enjoying a revival in his Aston Villa career and has fuelled the team’s hopes of a surprise charge for a European place.

The winger proved to be the club’s most unlikely hero as Unai Emery’s side battled through a tough week and emerged with nine points. Villa headed into April in 11th and just eight days later found themselves sitting sixth, in no small part due to Traore’s vital contributions.

His out-of-the-blue stunner at Leicester City gave Villa more than just another three points on the road.

It provided Villa with a catalyst for the team to believe they could reach an even higher level under Emery. Their true ceiling remains to be seen. The jubilant scenes between the players and away fans at full-time rightly put Traore front and centre. Little did anyone realise, there was still more to come from Villa’s maverick winger.

Following his late winner against the Foxes, Traore told Villa TV: “Great win, three points and I’m on the scoresheet again, so I’m very happy. It’s always what you dream about when you come on as a substitute, try to make an impact, try to help the team.”

After making his dream a reality in midweek, Traore repeated the trick just four days later at Villa Park when he replaced Leon Bailey. Nottingham Forest had looked to stifle Villa in a tired game at Villa Park before Traore found a way through the defensive line and was handed the chance to break the deadlock, curling the ball expertly beyond Keylor Navas.

Not bad for a player that spent more than 18 months in limbo after struggling with injuries and being unable to carve out a place for himself under Steven Gerrard. His Villa career looked to be fading away when he was shipped out on loan to Istanbul Basaksehir and his impressive 15 goal contributions in the 2020-21 season seemed to be a distant memory, before being recalled by Emery in January.

Traore had signed off his debut campaign for Villa with a goal and assist against former club Chelsea as a limited crowd revelled in their return to B6 due to covid-19 restrictions. It is hard to fathom that his goal against Forest was his first in front of a full capacity Villa Park, particularly such a naturally entertaining footballer. His goals against Bristol City, West Brom, Newcastle and Manchester United all attest to that.

At the end of his first season at the club, there was a sense that anything was possible for Villa, with Jack Grealish in tow, and Traore was playing with a smile on his face. Fast forward to the first five months of Unai Emery’s reign and the Spanish coach has helped the club rediscover that self-belief.

Being carried by Emi Martinez as the travelling Villa fans chanted his name at Leicester, Traore typifies the feel-good factor that is radiating from the club after their seven-game unbeaten run.

“We have a good squad of players and friends, so we are in a good way and we are in a good place,” he said, after the win at the King Power Stadium. “We have a good atmosphere in and around the pitch, this is really important for the rest of the season and for the future of this team.”

Traore’s immediate future could see him earn his first start for Villa since January 2022 against Newcastle on Saturday, following Bailey’s injury at the weekend.

What comes after the end of the season remains to be seen. The 27-year-old will have a year remaining on his deal in the summer - but for now, he is riding the crest of a wave. Like Traore, Villa’s dreams are starting to come true.

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