Chelsea’s Bertrand Traore has finally been granted a work permit to play in England. The attacking player first attracted interest from Chelsea whilst playing in the U17s World Cup in 2009. At that time, he was with the Auxerre academy.
In October 2013, he signed a professional contract with Chelsea after impressing on trial during Mourinho’s first pre-season. However he could not play for The Blues as he did not complete a certain number to qualify for international clearance. Therefore, Chelsea sent him out on loan to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem.
He impressed in the Eredivisie and scored a total of 17 goals in all competitions as Vitesse finished fifth. He was also regularly involved with the Burkina Faso national team. The increase in playing time made Chelsea reapply for a work permit and this time they were successful.
The 19-year-old can now look forward to go on Chelsea’s pre-season tour to USA and hope to impress Jose Mourinho like he did two pre-seasons ago in the Far East.
