Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has praised new signings Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara, and believes they’re the blueprint for future signings.
Villa finished 14th in the Premier League last season, and with Gerrard preparing for his first full campaign in charge, he’ll be hoping to build on that and push us up the standings after making some key new signings.
READ MORE: Possible Villa XI vs Man Utd: Gerrard to name strong side in pre-season clash
Carlos and Kamara are joined by Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen who have been signed on permanent deals this summer, while Ludwig Augustinsson has arrived on loan.
Gerrard will believe he’s moving closer towards having an XI and a squad capable challenging for a top eight finish moving forward, and he’s not only been impressed with what he’s seen of his new recruits thus far, but he has set out the strategy in future transfer windows.
Gerrard on Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara
“They’ve settled really quick, they’ve shown their ability and their character and they’re here to win,” he told the media, as per VillaTV. “Diego’s going to be a really big man and leader for us. Kamara’s going to give us style and passing range that I didn’t feel we had. I’m delighted to have them both but it can’t stop here.
“When we get the opportunity again, whether that’ll be this window or moving forward, that’s the calibre of player that Aston Villa need to attract to be able to grow and if we want to disrupt the higher echelons of this league, we need top players.”
Both Carlos and Kamara have impressed in pre-season thus far, not only in terms of their defensive work as we’ve yet to concede this summer after three games, but also with their composure and class in possession to help us build out from the back as they’ll clearly been influential in both phases of the game.
Gerrard was eager to sign both and deals have been delivered by the club, and while his focus for now will be on continuing to get the best out of the entire squad currently at his disposal, time will tell if Villa bring in any more new faces this summer.
Importantly though, the Villa boss has the right strategy detailed in his comments above, as it’s about quality over quantity now as Villa look to build a side capable of breaking into the top eight in the Premier League and beyond. So while ideally we’d bring in more signings now, if the right player isn’t available, it’s right for the club to wait and continue to build sensibly.