Chelsea face nervous few weeks as Blues attempt to tie up deal for trialist Traore Chelsea face an anxious few weeks as they attempt to complete the signing of highly-rated teenager Bertrand Traore and keep him from the clutches of their European rivals. Traore has performed well in three appearances during the club’s tour of Asia, scoring twice and impressing his team-mates. ‘He has not looked out of place among top international players,’ said England defender Gary Cahill, although, technically, the 17-year-old midfielder from Burkina Faso is on trial and without a club. There is nothing to stop him signing for someone else. Well, nothing other than the work permit issue which has prevented Chelsea turning their long-standing interest into something more permanent. Traore has played on both wings and in the No10 role on tour. He is tall and quick, with a wonderful left foot. He whipped one shot into the top corner from the edge of the box in Jakarta and arrived late to slide home a goal in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. He’s built like a young Abou Diaby, who also came through at Auxerre. The caveat, of course, is that he played against poor opposition, but his eye-catching performance was reminiscent of Arsenal’s Diaby or even Patrick Vieira, although perhaps with more poise. And unlike some Chelsea youngsters — Josh McEachran, Islam Feruz and Gael Kakuta, for example — Traore is already big and strong. ‘Traore we would like to keep,’ said Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. ‘We need to wait until he is 18 to see.’ Traore is a full international who was named in Burkina Faso’s squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and has continued to represent his country despite having no club. In that sense, he is following in the footsteps of his family. His father, Feu Traore Isai, also represented his country while his older brother, Alain, plays as a striker for Lorient in France. Bertrand is in the UK on a student visa according to Chelsea, which prevents them from signing him at the moment. The criteria will change when he is 18, in September, but he will still have to meet the work-permit regulations if he is to play for the Stamford Bridge club. He could sign and go out on loan to a club in another country, as some Premier League clubs have done in the past with young imports. Brazilian defender Wallace has been signed by Chelsea but cannot get a work permit and will spend the coming season on loan in Europe in the hope that he wins more caps for the national team and secures a work permit in future. Burkina Faso have risen rapidly through the FIFA rankings in recent months — they are now No 42, up 50 places since the start of the year. That will help Traore’s cause as long as he continues to play. He has been ahead of his age at national level for a long time, too, playing in the Under 17 World Cup at the age of 14. Chelsea have been cagey about his precise situation, aware that he is vulnerable to an approach from another club, but they played him on Thursday in front of 80,000 in Jakarta and the genie has escaped the bottle. In 2010, he was reported to have left Auxerre’s academy for Chelsea’s and spoke of meeting Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou at the Cobham training ground. ‘They welcomed me and called me their little brother,’ he said. ‘They gave me lots of advice.’ In an ideal world, Mourinho says he would like to fast-track the teenager into the Under 21 side at Chelsea to continue his development, with promotion to the first-team squad likely sooner rather than later. Then, like £8million summer signing Marco van Ginkel, Chelsea would expect to use him occasionally in the Capital One Cup team. If he showed the right promise, he could expect to be involved more often. Traore has certainly left an impression on the senior players in Mourinho’s squad. ‘I know the quality of the training we do at Cobham and lads like Traore have come into the games and not looked out of place,’ said Cahill. ‘He’s been working well with the manager for two weeks and scored a fantastic goal in Jakarta. ‘He’s composed on the ball and has great confidence for such a young lad. ‘I don’t know the ins and outs of the situation, but he’s certainly done himself no harm in the two weeks we’ve been here. ‘It’s too early to say he’s ready to do this and that and we don’t want to get carried away, but he has certainly not looked out of place in training alongside some top international players. ‘He’s slotted in nicely. He’s a young lad, but I’m sure he’s got a bright future at Chelsea.’
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 04:37:57 +0000
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