Aston Villa new boy Bertrand Traore set for Premier League debut against Fulham

Bertrand Traore is poised to make his Premier League debut for Aston Villa on Monday after making an impressive impact at his new club.

Traore marked his first appearance since his £19million move from Lyon with a spectacular strike to help Villa to a 3-0 win at Bristol City in the Carabao Cup last week.

The former Chelsea forward is likely to become a key part of Villa boss Dean Smith's new-look side with their spending set to pass the £100million mark for the second consecutive summer.

Smith said: 'It's not too early [for his first start]. He's trained really well, he looks fit. The French league curtailed early last season but his team were in the Champions League so he's been training pretty regularly.

'His fitness levels are really good and he's certainly made a good start.

'It's only early stages, we've only had one Premier League game and a couple of Carabao Cup games. But we've started well.'

Villa face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday, with the Londoners yet to register a point since returning to the Premier League.

Smith will be keen to preserve his side's 100 per cent record after beating Sheffield United 1-0 in their 2020-21 opener.