BERTRAND TRAORE is ready to kick-start his fading Aston Villa career under Unai Emery after enduring hardship under Steven Gerrard.
The news the club had axed Gerrard as boss in October was met with relief by Traore, who is enjoying a new lease of life at Villa Park after being recalled from a season-long loan spell at Istanbul Basaksehir in February.
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The Burkina Faso star, who hit the opener against Forest, had come off the bench to curl in the winning goal for Villa at Leicester on Tuesday night.
It was his first hurrah in this Premier League season as he opened up about his struggles with the iconic Liverpool skipper in charge.
He told SunSport: “It’s a goal that means a lot to me.
“My last two seasons have been hell, I picked up many injuries and had lots of problems with Gerrard.”
Some of the issues between the pair were of the Traore’s own making.
Traore said: “With Gerrard there were no personal issues, he is a good coach, it’s just I was injured a lot.
“And despite that, I still went away to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, where I sustained another injury.
“He took it badly and made me train with the reserves before sending me out on loan.”
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But Traore has nothing but praise for Gerrard’s successor Emery.
He said: “We’ve been great since his arrival. Personally, he’s given me a new chance to express myself.”
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