Sources: Gerrard tells Aston Villa to let Traore go in January as clearout plan revealed
Steven Gerrard has given the green light to Aston Villa letting Bertrand Traore go in January, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
The new Villa boss believes he has inherited an unbalanced squad with too many wide attacking players.
A Villa source has told Football Insider that the club will listen to offers for Traore in the upcoming window.
The Midlands giants are willing to either sell the 26-year-old on a permanent deal or loan him out for the second half of the season.
It comes as Villa are preparing to be busy in the January window as they look to climb the Premier League table.
Gerrard oversaw a 2-0 win over Brighton in his first match in charge last Saturday.
That ended a run of five consecutive Premier League defeats, which culminated in the dismissal of Dean Smith two weeks ago.
Traore has not started a league match all season, partly due to injury and partly to mixed form.
He sustained a thigh injury while playing for his country Burkina Faso during the October international break and last featured for Villa in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham on 3 October.
Traore has been a disappointment since joining from Lyon for £17million in the summer of 2020.
He has made 43 appearances in all competitions, which have yielded eight goals and seven assists.