Why Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara is one of the signings of the season and Unai Emery can now build around him
Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara is emerging as one of the signings of the season; Adam Bate looks at how and why the club made him their top target in the summer and speaks exclusively to Villa head coach Unai Emery about the player’s potential
Three wins from four Premier League games since the turn of the year reflects the impact of Unai Emery at Aston Villa but the club’s improved form has also been aided by the return to full fitness of Boubacar Kamara. He is one of the signings of the season.
A free transfer arrival from Marseille in the summer, the 23-year-old midfielder has already become a popular figure at Villa Park thanks to his determined defensive work in the centre of the pitch and his astute use of the ball. He brings quality and control.
Speaking to Emery at the club’s training ground, the always animated head coach is particularly enthusiastic when the name of Kamara comes up. It is apparent that the France international is going to be central to his plans for the future of the club.
“He has big potential,” Emery tells Sky Sports.
“Very big potential. He is playing well and is so focused on improving his game, improving his capacity with and without the ball. He has been developing, in France and here. Now it is my responsibility to develop him even more than he has done so far.”
Emery is a renowned student of the game whose knowledge has been described as encyclopedic but he admits that he had to do some additional work to find out more about Kamara’s game. “I had to increase my information about him,” he explains.
“I have information from different people who have worked with him before when he was at Marseille. I spoke with [former Marseille sporting director] Andoni Zubizarreta. I read [former coach] Jorge Sampaoli speaking about him. Now we know him here as well.”
