A week-old, thinly-sourced rumour about Chelsea loanee Bertrand Traore is strangely doing the rounds today. We could use the diversion while we occupy ourselves for the next five hours.
Rumours of dissension within Chelsea’s loan army are as readily believed as reports of a scrum between pro- and anti-Wenger forces in the nether regions of Reddit. In the last few weeks Tomas Kalas, Kenneth Omeruo and Marco van Ginkel weighed in on a future not at Stamford Bridge.
According to a short report in L’Equipe, Bertrand Traore is similarly dissatisfied with his situation. With 10 Chelsea appearances last season and a standout loan spell at Ajax this season, he understandably wants first-team stability. If that means leaving Chelsea, so be it.
The L’Equipe rumour undervalues Traore on the transfer market. The French paper gives his anticipated transfer fee as £8.5 million. That would put him on par with Papy Djilobodji, who Chelsea somehow sold for £8 million; and only slightly more than Thorgan Hazard, who Chelsea sold (with a buy-back clause) for £6 million. Traore’s price is also far less than Chelsea would typically pay for a young player of his calibre and potential. The Blues paid over £10 million for Loic Remy, and £8 million for Marco van Ginkel.
Bertrand Traore is Ajax’s third-highest scorer with nine goals in the Eredivisie this year. He has four more in the Europa League. Traore had one of his career-best games in the first leg of the semi-finals against Lyon, scoring a brace and an assist in the 4-1 win. He had little to show for 90 minutes in the 3-1 second leg loss, but Ajax are in the finals nonetheless.
Bertrand Traore and Tammy Abraham are two of the loan army players most likely to reach Chelsea’s squad next season. Traore does not have Abraham’s record-setting numbers in English football, but has much more senior level experience. Michy Batshuayi has as much to fear from Traore’s return as he does from whomever Chelsea purchase this summer.
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Like many loanees, Traore has earned stability and the opportunity to establish himself as a top player. If Chelsea are not willing to provide that they should do the right thing and sell him, preferably for well more than £8.5 million.