'Best bargain' Kamara at heart of Aston Villa success
Boubacar Kamara is Aston Villa's unassuming star.
The 26-year-old has quietly evolved into one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
That was evident on Tuesday as, without the suspended Kamara, Villa were thumped 4-1 at Arsenal, ending their club record-equalling 11-game winning run.
Villa still sit third and their season has been a stunning success, but Kamara's influence is key and he is expected to return against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
A free transfer from Marseille in 2022, the France international has been one of Villa's best bargains, arguably one of the best in the top flight in recent years.
Described as low maintenance and humble, he has been at the heart of Villa's recent success but deserves the spotlight himself.
How Villa won the race for Kamara
Before joining Villa, Kamara made 170 appearances for Marseille after graduating from the club's academy in 2016
In January 2022, Villa, then managed by Steven Gerrard, knew they lacked a real holding midfielder able to stablise the side and allow others, like John McGinn, more freedom.
Part of the discussion was how to get the best out of Douglas Luiz and find the optimal midfield pairing with a number six who could use the ball and had positional discipline.
Villa factored in how midfield partnerships were overlooked and how balanced they need to be, comparing them to vital centre-back roles.
Kamara had played at centre-back early in his career at Marseille or, when he was in midfield, he could drop into the middle of a back three.
It gave Villa insight into his skillset, how he would be able to build up play from the back, and the appreciation of his positional awareness and areas he would look to occupy.
The scouts saw a player of character and bravery, a young man willing to handle the spotlight at Marseille - having made his debut at 16 after joining the club aged five - where the pressure is palpable.
They saw calmness and composure which gave them the belief he would be able to transition to the Premier League well.
One negative was his injury record, and in his first season he missed 17 games with knee and ankle problems.
Worse was to follow when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester United in February 2024 which kept him out for eight months.
Yet there was confidence that, given his workload at Marseille, he would handle the rigours of the Premier League and Europe.
Villa scouts watched Marseille's 2-0 win at Lens in January 2022 to assess Kamara against another potential target Cheick Doucoure, who went to Crystal Palace that summer.
It was then they decided not to sign a central midfielder in the winter window and prioritise signing Kamara, having been tracking him for over a year, on a free transfer.
Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur, then at Juventus, was an option but there were doubts over if he was the pure holding midfielder Villa needed and whether he could bring enough discipline to the role.
Gerrard scouted Ibrahim Sangare - now at Nottingham Forest - for PSV Eindhoven against Leicester in the Europa Conference League quarter-final.
He also watched Kamara in Marseille's Conference League semi-final defeat by Feyenoord.
By then, though, the deal had been done with Villa beating Atletico Madrid to his signature. Villa's scouts were certain he was the best option.
The midfielder had meetings with both clubs but opted to move to England after chief executive Christian Purslow, sporting director Johan Lange and Gerrard flew out to meet him.
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