After proving himself as a good back-up option to Diego Costa last season, young striker Bertrand Traoré is now taking his talents back to the Eredivisie. He will be joining Ajax on loan for the season. As is often standard practice (see: Moses, Victor), he signed a new three-year contract extension first with Chelsea.
Bertrand Traore has signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea and joins Ajax on loan for the 2016/17 campaign... https://t.co/ST7UOY4OOF
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) 12 August 2016
The 20-year-old will train under manager Peter Bosz, who had helped Traoré in his transition from a left-footed right winger to a prolific goalscoring centre forward during the 2014-15 Eredivisie season at Vitesse. Ajax were in need of a new striker after the departure of Arek Milik to Napoli in a €34 million transfer move earlier this month.
NIEUWS | #Ajax huurt Bertrand Traoré van Chelsea FC: https://t.co/e3seuBQhXU #WelkomTraore pic.twitter.com/JTdNuOB2Tn
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) August 12, 2016
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), the impetus behind the move was Traoré himself, as he didn't want to stay and be behind Costa and new signing Michy Batshuayi in the pecking order. Ajax will be paying Chelsea a €2 million loan fee.
While the circumstances around Traoré's loan aren't ideal, his return to the Eredivisie could be a good move for his development. He will likely get much more playing time at Ajax than he would've gotten had he stayed at Stamford Bridge.
Best of luck to him, in this second quest to convince Chelsea that he deserves a proper chance with the first team, again.