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Sky pundit makes big Bertrand Traore claim in Aston Villa win
Chris Coleman during their coverage of Aston Villa’s win over Spurs on Wednesday that Bertrand Traore would be able to play for Real Madrid if his end product matched some of the other aspects of his game.
Dean Smith’s men produced a superb display to win 2-1 in North London. A number of players were outstanding as Villa bounced back from a disappointing run of form.
Traore was one of those Spurs seemed completely unable to cope with. The 25-year-old found himself in tight situations on a few occasions. And yet, he always seemed to be able to get himself out of trouble with a piece of brilliance.
, he managed seven successful dribbles. Remarkably, that left him four clear of any other player on the pitch.
Perhaps, he did not always make the most of those bright moments. And as he left the field in stoppage-time, Coleman made a huge claim regarding the potential Traore has.
“Well, he showed some skill tonight, Bertrand Traore,” . “And if he’d finished off some of the movements that he’s been involved in, then honestly, we’d be talking about him playing for Real Madrid because some of the things he’s done have been fantastic.
“But the final product has let him down a little bit.”
In fairness to Traore, no player managed a greater number of key passes than the attacker. Only Jack Grealish could match his tally of four.
And he is a player who has scored six and contributed six assists in his first year back in the Premier League.
He could still be a little more lethal. But one of his key roles is to produce that final pass that is going to give Ollie Watkins, Grealish or another teammate the chance to score. He has to take risks sometimes.
What is a frightening thought is that Traore has hit the ground running following his switch. Given the step up that several Villa signings took in their second year with the club, perhaps there is reason to think that Traore could find another level next season.