Aston Villa confirm signing of former Chelsea youth star Bertrand Traore from Lyon for £19m as their summer spending spree hits £84m… and they’ve now splashed out an incredible £227m in last two seasons!
- Villa’s summer spending has continued with £19m signing of Traore from Lyon
- He becomes their fourth major buy after Watkins, Cash and Martinez
- Club has now spent £227m on new players in two Premier League seasons
Aston Villa have confirmed the £19million signing of Lyon forward Bertrand Traore.
The 25-year-old has signed a three-year contract at Villa Park and is the club’s fourth major arrival of the summer to take their total spend to £84m.
Dean Smith said: ‘We’re delighted that Bertrand has chosen to come to Villa. He’s a player with immense talent who will really enhance our attacking options.’
Aston Villa have signed Traore from Lyon for £19million as their summer spending continues
Traore is Villa’s fourth major arrival of the summer window with £84m spent so far
Traore scored four goals and contributed five assists in 35 games for Lyon last season
Villa haven’t held back with their spending in an effort to re-establish themselves as a Premier League club following their promotion in 2019.
They spent £143m on new signings last summer and achieved their target of survival, albeit only on the final day of the season.
This summer has seen them buy striker Ollie Watkins from Brentford for an initial £28m that could rise to £33m as well as Matty Cash from Nottingham Forest for £14m and Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal for £20m.
It takes their spending since returning to the top-flight to £227m over the two seasons. Only Chelsea and Manchester City have spent more in the same period, with Villa’s spending roughly equal to Manchester United.
In addition, Villa’s captain Jack Grealish last week agreed a new five-year contract worth £135,000-a-week.
Traore played 125 matches during his time at Lyon, with the forward scoring 33 goals
Traore spoke to John Terry, his former team-mate at Chelsea and Villa’s assistant manager, before making the move.
He has also previously played alongside Villa players Marvelous Nakamba at Vitesse and Anwar El Ghazi at Ajax.
‘I’m very happy to join Aston Villa,’ he told VillaTV. ‘I’m happy to be here.’
‘I played with JT at Chelsea, I spoke to him.
‘I spoke to the Manager, spoke with the Sporting Director as well and some players I used to play with – Nakamba and El Ghazi.
‘I spoke to Nakamba, I talked to him a little bit about the club. Many things made me take the decision to come here. I’m happy.’
He added: ‘I’m excited to be back (in England). I always wanted to come back to the Premier League.
‘I had to follow my own way as well and gain some more experience. I think it is the right time to come back.
‘I think I’m coming back as a better player, with more experience. And this is the right place for me to come back. It’s good.’
Traore played 35 matches last season, mainly on the right wing, and scored four goals, adding five assists.
Traore, a Burkina Faso international, started his career in Chelsea’s academy and played 16 times for their first team in 2015-16.
That followed two seasons on loan with partner club Vitesse Arnhem while he also spent the 2016-17 campaign in Holland with Ajax.
Chelsea sold Traore to Lyon for £8.8m in the summer of 2017 and the forward has gone on to score 33 goals in 125 matches for the French club.
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