Chelsea scout says club is wasting young talent on the bench

Even though Chelsea didn't have any other natural strikers available in the first-team squad, Guus Hiddink decided to employ Eden Hazard as a #9 over Bertrand Traoré in a drab draw against Manchester United last Monday. Many people who watched Traoré's development in the Eredivisie last season see Traoré's lack of involvement with Chelsea as a waste of his talent, which is a sentiment also echoed by long-time Chelsea scout Piet de Visser.

"[Ajax's football director] Marc Overmars has already asked me about [Traoré], but José Mourinho wanted him not to go back then. At the moment he is being wasted on the bench at Chelsea. That is a shame, as Bertrand is a super talent."

"He has a tremendous technique and is cool in finishing. At Vitesse he stood out, at Ajax he would be working with better players. For him it is important to play for Ajax after the winter [transfer window], he can make a difference in the title race."

-Piet de Visser; Source: Voetbal International

Although Traoré hasn't had much time to display his abilities in England, he's shown a lot of eagerness in the few opportunities he's gotten, always looking to get himself or his colleagues into proper shooting positions. But Hiddink seems even more reluctant to use the youth than Mourinho.  Most hopes now lie on Diego Costa getting back to last seasons' form after his two-goal performance against Watford last week, but it's hard not to feel a bit for the youngster as he couldn't get chances even when Costa fell heavily in form.

In any case, Traoré needs first-team minutes and if he needs to go on loan again to get them, so be it.  De Visser talks as if the Ajax rumors we heard about recently could actually come true, so Traoré could very well be heading back to the Eredivisie.