Bertrand Isidore Traoré (born 6 September 1995) is a Burkinabé professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club İstanbul Başakşehir, on loan from

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

and the Burkina Faso national team. After beginning his career at

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are re ...

, he finished his development at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

, and made his debut in a one-and-a-half-year loan at Vitesse in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

. After a season in the

with Chelsea, he was loaned back to the Netherlands to play for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

in 2016, and a year later signed for

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

for €10 million. A full international from the age of 15, Traoré represented Burkina Faso at four

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

tournaments.

Club career

Chelsea

In August 2010, it was reported that Traoré had joined the

Chelsea Academy Chelsea Academy is a coeducational Church of England secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the Chelsea area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. The school was established in 2009 u ...

from French club

, rejecting

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the process. In January 2011, however, Traoré had not yet signed for the club, and in January 2012 the club confirmed that Traoré was not and had never been a Chelsea player, but had appeared once for the club's youth team in a friendly as part of a six-week trial earlier in the season. On 17 July 2013, however, he made his debut, as a trialist, in a pre-season friendly against the Singha All Stars. On 31 October 2013, Traoré officially signed a four-and-half-year contract with Chelsea. He signed a contract for Chelsea's senior team in December 2013, and completed the transfer on 1 January 2014.

Loan to Vitesse

On 2 January 2014, Traoré signed on loan for

side Vitesse. On 26 January, he made his debut, coming on in the 67th minute for fellow Chelsea loanee Lucas Piazon. On 29 March 2014, Traoré scored his first goal, against

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

. He replaced

Mike Havenaar is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a striker for FC Bonbonera GIFU. Early life Havenaar's parents came to Japan from the Netherlands in 1986 when his father Dido signed on to play for Hiroshima-based side Mazda FC of the Japa ...

after half-time; in the 67th minute, he scored Vitesse's second goal of the game which was assisted by fellow Chelsea loanee,

Christian Atsu Christian Atsu Twasam (10 January 1992 – ) was a Ghanaian professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, although he was also deployed as an attacking midfielder or left back. Atsu began his career with Porto, also spending a seas ...

. On 6 April, Traoré scored his second goal of the season in a home match against

which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 12 April, Traoré put Vitesse in the lead for the first time in the match against Cambuur, although Vitesse lost the game 4–3 in the end. On 7 July 2014, it was confirmed that Traoré would stay at Vitesse on loan for the 2014–15 season. Traoré scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 victory over

Willem II Willem II may refer to: People * William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands * William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands Other uses * Willem II (football club), a Du ...

on 18 October. While he primarily played on the right wing during his first loan to Vitesse, around December, Traoré made the switch from the right to being the lone striker up top leading up to him scoring on 14 December in a 1–1 draw against

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. In the following games, Traoré scored his first brace in a 4–0 win over Ajax in the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. O ...

, then three days later scored his first league brace in a 3–0 win over

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...

2015–16 season: Promotion to first team

On 22 June 2015, Traoré received a work permit and therefore clearance to play for Chelsea for the 2015–16 season onwards. He was given the number 14 shirt, previously worn by André Schürrle. On 16 September, Traoré made his Chelsea debut in a 4–0 victory against

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

group stage, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for

Ruben Loftus-Cheek Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek (born 23 January 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Chelsea. Early life Loftus-Cheek was born in Lewisham, Greater London. He grew up in Swanley, Kent and attended High Firs P ...

. His

debut came on 5 December, playing the final seven minutes of a 0–1 home loss to AFC Bournemouth. Traoré scored four goals in five matches in early 2016. On 31 January 2016, Traoré scored his first Chelsea goal in a 5–1 victory at

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. Th ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

, confirming the result five minutes after coming on in place of

Diego Costa Diego da Silva Costa (, ; born 7 October 1988), commonly known as Diego Costa, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Spain national team. Costa began his football care ...

. Two weeks later, after again replacing Costa, he scored his first Premier League goal in a game of the same result against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

. On 5 March, with Costa rested ahead of a Champions League game, Traoré was given a start in a home Premier League match against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...

and scored from 20 yards to open a 1–1 draw, but his performance was described as "mixed" due to "failing to control the ball in the box on a couple of occasions and being caught offside needlessly".

Loan to Ajax

On 12 August 2016, Traoré signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea and joined Ajax on loan for the 2016–17 campaign, which reunited him with former Vitesse manager, Peter Bosz. On the following day, Traoré made his league debut off the bench, replacing Kasper Dolberg in a 2–2 home draw against

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie ...

. On 16 August, Traoré made his first start in a Champions League play-off round against

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...

, a 1–1 draw. On 15 September, Traoré scored his first Ajax goal in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

group stage tie against Panathinaikos, scoring Ajax's equaliser in a 2–1 win. Just over a week later, he scored his first league goal in a 5–1 win over

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a tot ...

. On 3 November 2016, Bosz criticised Traoré in an interview stating that there's "nothing wrong with his attitude, but his form is not good". Traoré scored four goals in the

2016–17 UEFA Europa League The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League was the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the eighth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played between Ajax and ...

, including two goals in the first leg of the semi-final against his future club

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, ...

. He played every minute of the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

, with Ajax losing to

2–0.

Lyon

On 26 June 2017, Traoré signed for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

side

on a five-year contract for an initial transfer fee of €10 million (£8.8 million), plus potential add-ons. Chelsea reportedly inserted a buy-back clause into Traoré's contract and would receive 15 per cent of any profit made by Lyon on the fee should they sell Traoré in the future. Chelsea would also have first refusal should Traoré move again. In his first season in France, Traoré formed an attacking trio with

Mariano Díaz Mariano Díaz Mejía (; born 1 August 1993), known as Mariano, is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Sevilla. Shortly after making his debut for Badalona in 2011, Mariano joined Real Madrid, where he played i ...

and

Memphis Depay Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known simply as Memphis, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. Memphis began his professional career with PSV Ei ...

, all of whom reached double figures in league goals. He was sidelined with knee ligament injury from November 2017 until January, when he returned and scored a free kick for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

in a 3–2 home loss to SC Schiltigheim in the fourth tier. In the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final on 31 July, the last match in the competition, Traoré was the only player to miss in the penalty shootout as Paris Saint-Germain won 6–5 after a goalless draw; his attempt was saved by Keylor Navas.

Aston Villa

On 19 September 2020, Traoré signed for Premier League side

for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £17 million. He scored on his debut five days later, in a 3–0 away victory in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. On 20 December, he scored his first Premier League goal in four years in a 3–0 away victory over local rivals

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

. On the 23 May 2021, the final day of the Premier League season, Traore scored the first goal at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway statio ...

with fans in attendance since the start of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

in a 2–1 win over former club

. On 22 August 2022, Traoré signed for

club İstanbul Başakşehir on a season-long loan.

International career

Traoré participated at the

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009. The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating the host team and holders, Nigeria. The Golden Ball to the ...

and

2011 African U-17 Championship The 2011 African U-17 Championship was a football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament took place in Rwanda. The top four teams qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Qualification Qualified ...

, and helped Burkina Faso beat Rwanda 2–1 in the continental final. At the age of 15, Traoré made his debut for the Burkina Faso senior national team on 3 September 2011 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Equatorial Guinea. He made his first appearance at an

finals in the 2012 edition, becoming one of the youngest players to do so. He came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Narcisse Yaméogo in the 2–1 loss to Sudan in their final group stage match with Burkina Faso already eliminated from the tournament after losing their first two group stage matches. Traoré scored his first goal for the senior national team on 14 August 2013, opening the scoring in a 2–1 friendly away win over

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

. At the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

, he played all three of the team's games in another group stage exit, starting the first two. Burkina Faso came third at the

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champion ...

in Morocco. Traoré scored in a 2–0 win over

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, sending his country to the quarter-finals.

Personal life

Traoré's father, Feu Traoré Isaï, was also a footballer. He played for

RC Bobo Racing Club de Bobo Dioulasso also known as RC Bobo Dioulasso is a Burkinabé football club based in Bobo-Dioulasso. They play their home games at the Stade Municipal. The club colours are black and white. The club was founded in 1949. Current ...

and also represented Burkina Faso at international level. Bertrand is the youngest of four children. The second-eldest, Alain, is also a footballer. He is the cousin of Shakhtar striker

Lassina Traoré Lassina Chamste Soudine Franck Traoré (born 12 January 2001) is a Burkinabè professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk and the Burkina Faso national team. Club career Rahimo Traoré ...

. After moving to Chelsea's academy, Traoré was educated at

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

. Traoré is Catholic.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Traoré goal.''

Honours

Ajax *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

runner-up: 2016–17 Lyon *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France, w ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Burkina Faso U17 * African U-17 Championship: 2011 Burkina Faso *

bronze:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Individual *

Squad of the Season: 2016–17

References

External links

Bertrand Traoré
at ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but le ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Traore, Bertrand 1995 births Living people People from Bobo-Dioulasso Burkinabé footballers Association football forwards AJ Auxerre players Chelsea F.C. players SBV Vitesse players AFC Ajax players Olympique Lyonnais players Aston Villa F.C. players İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Eredivisie players Premier League players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 2 players Süper Lig players Burkina Faso youth international footballers Burkina Faso international footballers 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players Burkinabé expatriate footballers Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in France Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in England Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Turkey People educated at Whitgift School Burkinabé Roman Catholics 21st-century Burkinabé people