Why Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara is one of the signings of the season and Unai Emery can now build around him | Football News

Three wins from four Premier League games since the turn of the year reflects Unai Emery’s influence at Aston Villa, but the club’s improved form has also been helped by Boubacar Kamara’s return to full fitness. He is one of the players of the season.

Arriving on a free transfer from Marseille in the summer, the 23-year-old midfielder has become a popular figure at Villa Park thanks to his determined defensive work in midfield and intelligent use of the ball. They bring quality and control.

Speaking to Emery at the club’s training ground, the ever-animated head coach was enthusiastic when Kamara’s name came up. It appears that the French international will be at the center of plans for the club’s future.

“He has great potential,” Emery said Sky Sports.

“The potential is huge. He plays well and is very focused on improving his game, improving his capacity with and without the ball. He has developed, in France and here. Now it is my responsibility to develop him even more than he did. done so far.”

Emery is a famous student of the game who has been described as encyclopedic but he admits he needs to do some additional work to understand more about Kamara’s game. “I need to add more information about him,” he said.

“I have information from various people who have worked with him before when he was in Marseille. I spoke to him [former Marseille sporting director] Andoni Zubizarreta I read [former coach] Jorge Sampaoli talks about him. Now we know him here too.”

Emery is doing his own research but behind the scenes at Villa, the work has been going on for a long time. Inside the club, the signing is seen as an example of a successful and coordinated recruitment process. Good planning allowed him to jump at other clubs.

Atletico Madrid are interested but Villa have a deal agreed in May. A month earlier, head coach Steven Gerrard, sporting director Johan Lange and chief executive Christian Purslow had flown out to watch them together during Marseille’s win over Nantes.

The process starts from the summer of 2021 when Dean Smith is still at the helm. Villa have just finished 11th in the Premier League but there is a feeling that the lack of an elite holding midfield in the squad is a potential problem.

When Gerrard arrived that year, he came to the same conclusion about the squad and the position was marked as a priority. Rodrigo Bentancur is considered the only Uruguayan to join Tottenham in January 2022.

The shortlist also included Kalvin Phillips at one stage, but the speedy Kamara was the preferred choice. Villa were surprised because he was younger than the alternatives – and also cheaper because his contract was about to expire.

Head of recruitment Rob Mackenzie and his team have determined Kamara’s profile in the European market, ensuring that he is a regular at the Stade Velodrome in the months leading up to his recommendation.

Lange was convinced and brought him to the attention of Gerrard, who was also active in the effort. An additional factor is the number of games played by the 22-year-old, 162 for Marseille. He even has a leadership role in the group.

But what is unusual about Kamara is the combination of his qualities.

His ball-winning abilities put him in a bracket with certain types of midfielders – tough tacklers and interceptors, who can destroy teams. Exactly the quality that Villa know they need to add to their squad.

But Kamara’s case is strengthened because he has more to his game. The statistical analysis of the retention of the ball shows that there is also a similarity with a very different type of midfielder, who cannot match his aggressive qualities.

At Marseille last season, he was the best player in France winning 50-50 duels and owning wins in the central third, but he was also on top for passes that finished in the opposition half and even through the ball. No one is better than him at both.

Now Villa supporters are noticing too.

There was a moment in first-half stoppage time in Villa’s most recent home game against Leeds when the crowd shouted to warn Kamara about an opponent attacking him on the blind side as he prepared to collect the ball on the edge of his own penalty. box.

He needn’t have worried.

With a shoulder drop, he ran away.

That ability to pick up the ball in tight areas and play through thirds makes Kamara very complete and means he is comfortable in a midfield two. Indeed, his presence has allowed Douglas Luiz more freedom and he has benefited.

For Emery, his all-round talent gives him tactical flexibility. “We have two very good midfielders. These are players who can play at different heights. So we can keep these two midfielders in the middle but maybe we can defend higher or deeper.”

Villa have only been beaten twice in the Premier League when the two have started together – and one of those was lost after the partnership was broken up by a late substitution. The results that led to Gerrard’s dismissal came with Kamara injured.

The player has returned from the knee problem even stronger, using the time out to improve his physicality even more for the game, ready for the challenge of the Premier League. This allowed them to step up their game again under Emery.

He has been pivotal of late, perhaps the standout performer on the pitch against Leeds. There was defensive work to be done in the game, but Kamara also provided the assist for Leon Bailey’s opening goal with a drive as Villa used the counter-attack.

Against Southampton, it was a forward pass that helped create double chances for Bailey and Jacob Ramsey in the first half. He also won a free-kick from Douglas Luiz’s cross for Ollie Watkins to win the game in the end. Another impressive performance.

And Kamara is just getting started. It is said that scouts from rival clubs have been following his progress, but Aston Villa have no need to sell. The hope is that Emery can now build around the excellent Boubacar Kamara, one of the signings of the season.