Tim Sherwood has warned Aston Villa fans not to expect too much too soon from Adama Traore, saying he will not be the club's "saviour".
Traore signed a five-year contract at Villa Park on August 14 after the Premier League outfit agreed a €10million fee, which could rise by a further €2m, with Barcelona.
During his time at Camp Nou Traore made only four first-team appearances, but his arrival was welcomed by the Villa supporters excited at seeing the 19-year-old in action.
However, Sherwood has looked to dampen those expectations by labelling Traore as a "development project" and suggesting he may not feature much in 2015-16.
"Traore is fit," said the Villa boss. "He hadn't trained for a week during negotiations.
"The Premier League is a tough league. Hopefully we'll see him at some stage this season.
"He's definitely one for the future.
"[But] I don't want people to think he's the saviour of Aston Villa."
Sherwood's side kicked off the season with a 1-0 win at newly promoted Bournemouth, but lost 1-0 at home to Manchester United last Friday.
Alexia Putellas: "We’re already the only club to have won the men’s and women’s Champions League, so the only thing even more historic to do than that would be to win it in the same season"
‘Trent has won everything he can for Liverpool, but of those who’ve left that we wanted to stay, who’s actually done better? I can only come up with one’: Reds legend highlights potential danger of Alexander-Arnold moving to Real Madrid
