Chelsea return a possibility, claims Lyon´s Traore

Lyon striker Bertrand Traore harbours ambitions of returning to the Premier League and claims he could even move back to former club Chelsea in the future.

The 22-year-old ended a four-year spell at Stamford Bridge when he joined Lyon for £9 million in June after spending the 2016-17 season on loan at Ajax.

Traore said a lack of first-team opportunities at Chelsea, where he made just four Premier League starts, left him with no choice but to seek a transfer.

“Going from Chelsea was the best decision for me,” Traore told the Daily Mail. “I am enjoying myself.

“As a young player you can only improve if you are playing every week. I enjoyed my time at Chelsea and when I had opportunities to show what I could do on the pitch, I took them with both hands. But there weren’t any guarantees I would play.

“I would be happy if it was me in the Chelsea first-team playing every weekend, but this is football and you have to take decisions. Along with Chelsea, I took the decision to sign for Lyon and I am happy with that.”

The Burkina Faso international was asked whether he might follow in the footsteps of David Luiz and Didier Drogba by returning for a second spell at Chelsea, and he replied: “Why not, it is up to me to develop and progress as a player and prove that I am good enough to play in the Premier League.

“Others went back, it is a possibility. I have to focus on Lyon, do my best and see what I do in the future.”

Traore scored against Premier League opposition when he got the winner in Lyon’s 2-1 victory over Everton in the Europa League – a competition he knows well after reaching last season’s final with Ajax.

10 – Bertrand Traore has been directly involved in 10 goals in just 15 starts in the Europa League (six goals, four assists). Heeled. pic.twitter.com/wIssOu3bZQ

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 19, 2017

“It was an amazing result,” he said. “We didn’t start well in the competition but going to Everton and getting a victory is a big achievement.

“Playing in the final last year against United was a dream. At this stage, you don’t realise how big the Europa League gets. The further you go in the tournament, the more you see it.”