Aston Villa outcast ‘rejects three Championship clubs’ as Emery lets €18.4m winger leave on a free | OneFootball

Bertrand Traore and Douglas Luiz during a match.

Bertrand Traore will join Villarreal after Aston Villa decided to terminate his contract, according to multiple reports.

Burkino Faso international Traore has just returned from the African Cup of Nations after his side were beaten 2-1 by Mali in the last 16 of the competition.

He scored an impressive three goals in four appearances despite only being named in Burkina Faso’s starting XI twice.

The 43 minutes the 28-year-old played across his first two appearances eclipsed his total minutes played for Aston Villa across all competitions this season (41).

Clearly not in Unai Emery’s plans, Traore – who moved to the Premier League from Lyon for €18.4million in 2020 – will be allowed to leave the Villans on deadline day.

Multiple reports suggest he is on the move to La Liga side Villarreal, who Emery managed before joining Aston Villa in November 2022.

According to transfer journalist Matte Moretto, it will be a free transfer after Villa agreed to terminate Traore’s contract.

Fabrizio Romano confirmed the news, saying a deal is ‘almost completed’.

He wrote on X: ‘Villarreal are closing in on deal to sign Bertrand Traore from Aston Villa. Agreement almost completed. Villa gave the green light today after Morgan Rogers deal.’

Another player who has been linked with a deadline day exit from Villa is defender Calum Chambers.

Speaking last month, Emery confirmed that Chambers, as well as Traore, would be allowed to leave in the January transfer window.

“Chambers and Traore can go and if that happens, we can think about adding one or two players to the squad – but we are not focused on a particular player,” the Spanish head coach said.

“I want to increase the level of the players who are here between now and the end of the season.

“In our situation is not easy to get something in this transfer window.”

And according to Football Insider, Chambers has turned down the chance to leave the Villans on Thursday.

Despite Villa’s efforts to offload the former Arsenal man, he is reluctant to depart the club.

The 29-year-old only has three appearances for Emery’s side this season, two of which came in the Europa Conference League group stage.

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