Manager Not Happy With Chelsea Striker: Does He Have A Future Under Conte?

Bertrand Traore joined Ajax on loan in the summer but has so far scored just 3 goals in 15 appearances and failed to impress the staff at the club.

“His attitude is nothing wrong, but the shape is not good. I know he can do much better that he has shown at Ajax in his early days. But since the last international period, he will never get the level of before. It is important that he gets back to form as soon as possible,” the Ajax manager said, as quoted by Dutch publication Voetbal International.

It is well known that Traore was not happy with being loaned out to Ajax in the first place, with the powerful forward feeling he was ready for first team football at Chelsea - he recently said ‘Youngsters get no chance at Chelsea!’. Conte may have felt that he was not suited to the club initially - but with the tactical shift to a 3-4-3 formation - I think he may be more welcome at the club and with the player struggling in Holland - maybe it would be a good idea to recall him?

A January re-call for the talented youngster could give the Chelsea squad a welcome boost in a busy time for fixtures and with the loan spell clearly not working out, there’s surely no point in keeping him out there? Although his best position is through the middle as a centre forward, I feel he would be a very good squad option in the wide forward roles and with Conte showing more faith in the youngsters than previous managers have at the London club - it makes sense.

It’s true Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi are ahead of him in terms of quality, so first team chances in his favoured role would be limited - but in that wide role for a 3-4-3 he can really use his pace and attacking qualities to hurt team. Because of the back of four behind them, the attacking three do not have to really worry about defensive responsibilities. Capable of playing on the left or the right, I think Traore would get a good amount of chances in this new system.

The fact that he is not performing for Ajax does not mean he is a bad player. It could just be that the environment is not suited to him. At the end of last season he started to adjust to Chelsea and his teammates, only to be, like so many Chelsea youngsters, sent out on loan.

 

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