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| Chelsea’s Bertrand Traoré finally granted work permit | Chelsea’s Bertrand Traoré finally granted work permit |
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| Bertrand Traoré will have an opportunity to prove he merits a place in Chelsea’s first-team squad when he travels with the senior party on their tour of the United States next month after the Burkina Faso teenager was granted a work permit to play in England. | |
| The winger turned centre-forward who first alerted Chelsea’s scouts to his talents as a 14-year-old at the Under-17 World Cup in 2009 while he was still being developed by the French club Auxerre, officially signed professional terms on a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Premier League champions in January 2014. | The winger turned centre-forward who first alerted Chelsea’s scouts to his talents as a 14-year-old at the Under-17 World Cup in 2009 while he was still being developed by the French club Auxerre, officially signed professional terms on a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Premier League champions in January 2014. |
| Related: John Terry says Petr Cech would be worth 12 to 15 points to Arsenal | Related: John Terry says Petr Cech would be worth 12 to 15 points to Arsenal |
| However, he was unable to feature competitively having not played the requisite number of games for his country to qualify for international clearance. | However, he was unable to feature competitively having not played the requisite number of games for his country to qualify for international clearance. |
| The 19-year-old has spent the past 18 months on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands, impressing consistently last season when he scored 17 goals in all competitions to help them finish fifth and win the play-offs for a Europa League place. | The 19-year-old has spent the past 18 months on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands, impressing consistently last season when he scored 17 goals in all competitions to help them finish fifth and win the play-offs for a Europa League place. |
| His regular involvement with Burkina Faso, including in the Africa Cup of Nations this year, saw Chelsea reapply for a permit, with Vitesse having confirmed his parent club had always intended to bring him back to England. “José Mourinho is crazy about him. If the opportunity is there, they’d prefer to take him back,” said the Vitesse manager Peter Bosz. That application has now been successful. Burkina Faso were ranked 66th in the world as of 4 June with Traoré, who made his debut at international level at 15, having featured in more than 75% of their senior competitive matches when available over the last two years. | His regular involvement with Burkina Faso, including in the Africa Cup of Nations this year, saw Chelsea reapply for a permit, with Vitesse having confirmed his parent club had always intended to bring him back to England. “José Mourinho is crazy about him. If the opportunity is there, they’d prefer to take him back,” said the Vitesse manager Peter Bosz. That application has now been successful. Burkina Faso were ranked 66th in the world as of 4 June with Traoré, who made his debut at international level at 15, having featured in more than 75% of their senior competitive matches when available over the last two years. |
| The FA’s new points-based guidelines for work permit applications, announced by Greg Dyke in March, came into effect on 1 May. While there may initially have been fears Traoré would struggle to qualify under the more stringent criteria, given that eligible-ranked nations have been reduced from the top 70 to the top 50, with new appearance requirements depending on the status of the nation, the player had still accrued enough points to qualify. | The FA’s new points-based guidelines for work permit applications, announced by Greg Dyke in March, came into effect on 1 May. While there may initially have been fears Traoré would struggle to qualify under the more stringent criteria, given that eligible-ranked nations have been reduced from the top 70 to the top 50, with new appearance requirements depending on the status of the nation, the player had still accrued enough points to qualify. |
| His case was referred to the newly formed exceptions panel which put Traoré through a grading system which takes into account, among other things, a player’s value, his wage and the league he has been playing in. The three-man panel deemed the Burkinabé had scored enough points, and that Chelsea had demonstrated their commitment to the player, to warrant the award of a permit. He was given the green light to return to his parent club and can feature over his current contract. | |
| Chelsea will include Traoré in the squad travelling to the US on 15 July for games against New York Red Bulls, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, with Mourinho hopeful the forward demonstrates similar form to that which illuminated the tour of the Far East two years ago. | Chelsea will include Traoré in the squad travelling to the US on 15 July for games against New York Red Bulls, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, with Mourinho hopeful the forward demonstrates similar form to that which illuminated the tour of the Far East two years ago. |
| While the club have already fielded inquiriesfrom across the continent to take the player on another 12-month loan, the manager’s instinct is to retain Traoré within the first-team set-up, potentially as a fourth-choice striker or wide option in midfield, which would add to the champions’ options despite the fact the player would not qualify as “home-grown” having spent his recent career in the Netherlands. | While the club have already fielded inquiriesfrom across the continent to take the player on another 12-month loan, the manager’s instinct is to retain Traoré within the first-team set-up, potentially as a fourth-choice striker or wide option in midfield, which would add to the champions’ options despite the fact the player would not qualify as “home-grown” having spent his recent career in the Netherlands. |
| Chelsea, who will confirm the loan arrival of Radamel Falcao after the Copa América, may yet be without Loïc Rémy next season and while further additions are anticipated in the transfer window, Traoré would offer versatility up front. |