Why Jose Mourinho was 'crazy' about Aston Villa transfer target Bertrand Traore

Aston Villa transfer news: Olympique Lyon and former Chelsea striker is closing in on a return to English football and the Premier League with Dean Smith's side this summer

Aston Villa are closing in on a move for Olympique Lyon striker Bertrand Traore.

According to reports, Traore is set to sign a three-year deal with Dean Smith's side with Villa having agreed a £17 million fee with Lyon.

Traore returns to English football three years after his departure from Chelsea, whom he joined from French side Auxerre in 2013.

The Burkina Faso international arrived at Stamford Bridge while current Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho was in charge of Chelsea.

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Mourinho only played Traore three times, though, with the 25 year-old spending most of his time away from Chelsea and Mourinho would leave the club in 2015 two years before the player's exit on a permanent deal to Lyon.

Peter Bosz, who managed Traore during loan spells with Vitesse and Ajax, claimed back in 2015 that two-time Champions League winner Mourinho was 'crazy' about Villa target Traore.

"Jose Mourinho is crazy about him," Bosz said to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf while Traore was on loan at Ajax.

"If the opportunity is there, they will prefer to take him back."

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Bosz, under whom Traore scored 33 times in 90 appearances, criticised Traore in 2016 during his time at Ajax.

"I do not believe that all 50,000 fans see him doing wrong," he said.

"I agree with you that more of Bertrand was expected, but that casually sits in his game.

"Even if he plays well; people demand more, he needs to learn to live with that."

More recently, Lyon boss Rudi Garcia praised Traore back in April for improving his game.

"He's a player, a man I like," he said. "A left-hander, an attacker, a dribbler, we need it. We worked with Bertrand to make it less readable.

"He can overflow his right foot, play with others, in one touch. He can do very, very good things.

"He will finish the season better than he started. I highly value him, he needs to be given confidence."