Bertrand Traore is delighted to join Aston Villa and revealed glowing references from friends already at the club helped play a part in his arrival.
The forward, 25, has arrived from Lyon for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance.
Traore has previously played alongside John Terry at Chelsea, Marvelous Nakamba at Dutch side Vitesse and Anwar El Ghazi at Ajax.
It means Villa’s new arrival will not be short of familiar faces at Bodymoor Heath.
“I’m very happy to join Aston Villa,” he told VillaTV in his first interview.
“I’m happy to be here.”
Traore added: “I played with JT at Chelsea, I spoke to him.
“I spoke to the Manager, spoke with the Sporting Director as well and some players I used to play with – Nakamba and El Ghazi.
“I spoke to Nakamba, I talked to him a little bit about the club.
“Many things made me take the decision to come here.
“I’m happy.”
Traore signed for Chelsea before enjoying subsequent loan spells with Vitesse and European giants Ajax, completing a permanent move to French club Lyon in 2017.
And he is now happy to return to the Premier League and eager to impress for Villa.
“I’m excited to be back (in England),” Traore said.
“I always wanted to come back to the Premier League.
“I had to follow my own way as well and gain some more experience.
“I think it is the right time to come back.
“I think I’m coming back as a better player, with more experience.
“And this is the right place for me to come back. It’s good.”
