Forgotten at Villa, caused Lampard's Chelsea transfer headache, and Traore could end Mane's AFCON dream

The Burkina Faso international could block in the Reds star's path to the AFCON final, with Senegal facing Traore's country in the semi-finals on Wednesday night.

Senegal are currently the highest ranked African nation in the FIFA standings, with Burkina Faso placed 11th in the pecking order.

Both sides have reached the AFCON final previously, but neither have managed to lift the coveted trophy.

Aston Villa forward Traore has played a pivotal role for his country during the competition, scoring in the 1-1 draw against Gabon in the round of 16, which his country went on to win 7-6 on penalties.

But while the 26-year-old has stood out at AFCON, he has played just seven games for the Villans this campaign, making the starting XI just once, and failing to record a single goal or assist.

Some of this was down to a thigh injury, but overall, it appears he's out of favour Villa Park.

With his nation, though, he could be about to stun his continent and prove he's a still a top-level talent.

Traore started his youth career at French club Auxerre before moving to Chelsea's academy, despite interest from Manchester United, in the summer of 2010 when the winger was just 14.

Two years later, he made his senior debut for his country at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

However, it wasn't until October 2013 that he officially signed for the Blues, and later went on to secure a contract with the senior team in January 2014, the first day available after his 18th birthday.

Traore, though, left the Blues three years later in 2017 following loans at Vitesse and Ajax, signing for Lyon for £8.8 million after making just 16 appearances for Chelsea.

However, that wasn't the end of Traore's impact on the club. It's understood he was the youngster who sparked the 2016 investigation which led to Chelsea's recent transfer ban.

World football's governing body began looking into the the club's signing of young talent after images of a 16-year-old Traore playing in a 'non-competitive' match for Chelsea against Arsenal in 2011 were brought to their attention.

The Blues claimed they had an agreement approved by the Premier League and the FA which allowed Traore to play in trial games before he turned 18, but FIFA eventually ruled the club breached 27 rules involving 69 academy players over several seasons.

In Traore's instance, the Blues were found to have paid substantial sums to the player's mother and a club in Burkino Faso, while also covering his education - which FIFA saw as a breach of its strict rules regarding the international transfer of under-18s.

This lead to a transfer ban stretching across two windows for Frank Lampard's Blues in the summer of 2019 and January 2020.

The embargo was later halved to one window upon appeal and Chelsea have always insisted their dealings with Traore fell under the rules.

While the Blues dealt with that, the Burkina Faso star went on to have a stellar first season with Lyon, forming an attacking trio with Mariano Diaz and Memphis Depay.

Unfortunately for Traore, the end of his impactful time at Lyon, which spanned three campaigns, was marked by him being the only player to miss a penalty in the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue final against Paris Saint-Germain.

The winger returned to England in September 2020, signing for then-manager Dean Smith at Aston Villa.

Although he has failed to cement himself in Villa's starting XI this campaign, he had a positive start to life at Villa Park, scoring on his debut in the EFL Cup.

All in all, Traore has had a topsy-turvy career, with moments of glamour and success coupled with instances of lack of game time and controversy, so should his nation cause an upset, it would suit the winger's unpredictable narrative.

So while Mane may be dreaming of facing his fellow Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah's Egypt in the final, he and his teammates will need to be wary, Traore could be ready to strike.