Tim Sherwood’s prematch presser for the Crystal Palace game suggested Adama Traore’s first team role with Aston Villa will very much be limited this season, especially in the early part of the season.
“I don’t want people to think he’s the saviour of Aston Villa football club” – Sherwood on Traore.
Many Villa supporters like some of Traore’s new teammates didn’t see much past the word ‘Barcelona’ in assessing the player. Take Scott Sinclair for example…
“It’s exciting for the club,” Sinclair told a daily national newspaper. “To sign a player from Barcelona just shows the club is moving forward.”
‘The Secret Footballer’ listed the 19-year-old fourth on a list of 19 players to watch for the future in his book “The Secret Footballer’s Guide To The Modern Game”.
“Traore stood out because he had the physique that could cope with English football, he had speed and trickery, but what I really liked about him was that he was direct,” writes the Secret Footballer.
“When he got the ball, it was obvious that the only thing on his mind was to try to create something or score. He wasn’t interested in coming back or keeping the ball.”
“I don’t think Traore is ready for the Premier League right now,” added the Secret Footballer to put a rational slant on the player, and it’s something that Tim Sherwood is very keen to echo.
“It’s far too early [for Traore], everyone needs to realise he is a development project,” said Sherwood at the Palace press conference. “He’s a young man with a big future ahead of him but he needs to be developed. I don’t want people to think he’s the saviour of Aston Villa football club.”
It take more than 90 minutes for the Villa U-21s against Derby this week to acclimatise him for the Premiership, so it looks like Sherwood might give him a few weeks training with the Villa squad before he potentially starts drip feeding him into the match day squad as initially an impact sub.
For the moment, it’s best to keep a lid on the hype for the next month or so, as he gets up to speed with his new club, country and league. When his time does come though, it should be pretty interesting. But of course, there’s every chance that Tactics Tim is bluffing!
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Even though some fans will want to see him playing , the priority is to get the squad performing , and we already have a bigger squad with more potential than last season . Not all the squad can play come match day and we’ve yet to see a lineup with Grealish & Gil in it and we know what they are capable of , but how will the new look Villa perform with them in the starting lineup ?