While Aston Villa have done exceptionally well without him, Boubacar Kamara’s return from injury will be a pivotal moment in our season and critical to our chances of future success.
The 24-year-old has been absent since February after suffering a serious knee injury, but Unai Emery revealed last week that the French international is on course to return after the upcoming international break, having rejoined group training last month.
READ MORE: Why return of key Villa ace will be crucial boost for Emery
From qualifying for the Champions League at the end of last season without him to our brilliant start to this campaign following the addition of Amadou Onana over the summer, Villa have found answers and solutions without Kamara being available, and we’ll have excellent competition and depth moving forward.
However, watching the second half of our 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town on Sunday, it was a perfect example of why Kamara is so fundamental for us with his ability to control and impose himself in games in both phases in that midfield area.
Ollie Watkins conceded in his post-match interview that after controlling the game in the way in which we wanted to in the first half, the encounter at Portman Road became like a basketball match in the second half, and that suited the hosts who were a threat on the counter-attack, and subsequently scored their equaliser on one.
The midfield pivot partnership of Youri Tielemans and Onana has been highly influential so far this season, and they will continue to be in the coming weeks and months. While Ross Barkley was introduced off the bench as we looked to find a winner in the latter stages, what the game was screaming out for was the influence and impact of Kamara to take the sting out of it and give us back control to dictate tempo and possession in that second half.
The Frenchman is so effective in doing that with his technical ability, composure, tactical and positional awareness and intelligence, and that’s why we’ve seen him establish himself as an integral player for us as he’s key in both phases to how we want to play and the structure within which we operate.
Since his injury in our FA Cup defeat to Chelsea on February 7, Villa have played 29 games across all competitions. In those 29 outings, we’ve kept just five clean sheets and conceded 48 goals.
Of course, that’s not all down to Kamara’s absence, as we’ve made individual mistakes, conceded soft goals and not defended well enough as a unit over an extended period of time.
However, it does paint a picture as to how his absence negatively impacts our ability to be a more solid defensive side, as we’re conceding far too many goals and that will hurt us in the long run if we don’t find the necessary solutions.
Again, slotting Kamara back into our midfield isn’t going to solve everything, but given what he brings to the team on and off the ball, there’s little doubt that he will make a major difference to how we play and are able to shut opposition sides out, and so it’s going to be a huge boost to have him back at Emery’s disposal later this month to hopefully go on and play a pivotal role in our success this year.
