Boubacar Kamara – Five Questions of Aston Villa’s New Signing

A Beginner’s Guide to Boubacar Kamara


Right, it is time to continue the catch-up on some of these new Aston Villa signings that have sneaked in prior to the transfer window opening today.

Now with the window open in earnest, let’s get everyone up to scratch with the brass tacks skinny guide of Boubacar Kamara, by fielding the five ‘W’s’ of a player that could prove Villa’s most vital acquisition of the summer transfer window.

Liam Scahill, who contributes to the Ligue 1 podcast Breaking the Lines and recently gave us a lowdown on eight French prospects worth looking at, give his first impressions of the young French international.

Boubacar Kamara – The 5 W’s

he is quite literally the highest profile available and attainable defensive midfielder Villa could have recruited.

Who?

It has been quite an eventful summer already for Mr. Kamara, a senior first international call-up for France (perfectly timed as Senegal have been chasing his allegiance), an international debut and of course a transfer to the mighty Villa.

At the age of 22, Boubacar Kamara has been spending the last few weeks training at the famous Château de Clairefontaine with his new international teammates after Paul Pogba’s injury presented our new signing with an opportunity to impress Deschamps.

Kamara was born in Marseille in November 1999, to a Senegalese father and a mother from Corsica. His mother Cathy is a passionate supporter of Marseille, she passed on her love & passion for the club to him. At the tender age of five he joined the club that his mother adores, a club he has never left until Stevie G came round to his house for a cuppa.

The fact he left the club that nurtured him for no transfer fee after running down his contract has left a sour taste for many in the Marseille camp.

The club’s President Pablo Longoria admitted to feeling betrayed in the wake of the transfer, while Kamara took to Twitter in full Eric Cantona mode, to air his side of the story after his transfer to Villa was revealed.

What?

Make no mistake, this is a high profile signing by Gerrard & Co he will not be coming to Birmingham to sit on the bench.

He will be seeking a starting berth to further his credentials with France in a World Cup year and will be vying with Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba for a position in the Villa midfield.

Boubacar Kamara’s heatmap last season

He is part of the next wave of French shinning lights alongside the likes of Camavinga, Gouiri, Saliba, Tchouaméni and Nkunku to name just a few.

Why?

Every transfer is often tinged with an air of inevitability and Kamara certainly falls into this category.

He has been at Marseille for 17 years and this summer has long been viewed as the date of his great migration to one of Europe’s cash rich leagues.

During a recent press conference on international duty, our new midfielder was quizzed on why he picked Aston Villa:

“I had this feeling with Aston Villa, and I was very happy,” said Kamara, visibly annoyed that he was asked to justify himself.

“When the coach comes to see you at home, he makes the trip, he explains the project, his ambition for me in the years to come…
I take that into account, especially when it comes from Steven Gerrard, one of the best midfielders in the world in his position”.

For a young player he has amassed quite a number of games (170) under his belt already and on paper, he is quite literally the highest profile available and attainable defensive midfielder Villa could have recruited.

He has Champion’s League experience and now an international cap, after featuring off the bench against Croatia.

If you are expecting a bullish physical-defensive-midfield-enforcer, you are going to be disappointed but if you are envisaging a stylish-athletic-clever footballer who can use the ball when he wins it back, you will not be disappointed.

Think more Wesley Fofana defensive style rather than Roy Keane.

He should provide our attacking talents with more freedom to do their thing and be a useful tool when it comes to counter-attacking, he is much more comfortable on the ball than a Nakamba and a more natural defensive player than Luiz.

What really makes him standout is his uncanny ability to break the opposition’s press; his pass completion was 91.8%:2304 passes in Ligue 1 last season compare that to Luiz 87.6%:1295 passes and Nakamba’s 66%:660 passes in the Premier League.

From the player’s point of view, he has said numerous times since his move that the time was right to leave Marseille and the Gerrard effect has the young lad smitten, he is here to continue his progression and footballing education in a more high profile league (and of course the wages too).

Worries?

Let’s face it Villa’s love affair with French players in recent years has been épouvantable (terrible) and the manner in which he ran down his contract with his hometown club to engineer a transfer is a bit distasteful (maybe Joe wasn’t so bad after all).

However, one must also remember his stellar performances in the homestretch of the season for Marseille, he was outstanding, and his commitment on the pitch was unwavering despite the risk of an injury potentially scuppering his personal transfer plans.

Marseille alumni such as Morgan Sanson, Arsenal’s Mattéo Guendouzi and William Saliba have struggled in the Premier League in recent times, so let’s hope Kamara breaks the mould.

UTV

Check out:

The Five Questions of Diego Carlos

The Five Questions of Philippe Coutinho

Follow Liam on Twitter – @LiamScahill

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The MOMS Podcast discussed Boubacar Kamara on episode 191