Aston Villa are reportedly set to face interest from Al Hilal in influential midfield star Boubacar Kamara this month.
The 25-year-old has established himself as a fundamental figure in the Villa side since arriving from Marseille in 2022, and he’s gone on to make 97 appearances for the club while playing a pivotal role in our ongoing progression under Unai Emery.
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Were it not for injuries, Kamara would have featured more heavily in that period, but there’s no doubt over how important he is for the Villa boss with his defensive qualities and technical ability in possession making him a key presence in the heart of the team, particularly alongside Youri Tielemans.
With his contract still having two years remaining on it, there isn’t necessarily a major concern over his future at Villa, but with the more pressing issue of PSR and SCR and whether or not Villa will be compliant by the June 30 deadline, the club are potentially going to be forced into sacrificing a key player in the coming weeks.
The hope is that it won’t be Kamara, as speculation continues to suggest that a new contract offer is on the table for the French international, but as of yet he hasn’t signed it, and our failure to qualify for the Champions League may have a damaging impact on our chances of convincing him to put pen to paper.
Now, according to Footmercato, Al Hilal are preparing to take advantage of the situation by trying to convince the Frenchman to make the move to the Saudi Pro League, and they possess the necessary resources to perhaps convince both Villa and Kamara to do a deal.
From a Villa perspective, we’d ideally keep hold of Kamara this summer and sell others instead to bridge the gap and balance our books to avoid sanctions.
However, if he’s unwilling to sign a new deal and Al Hilal are prepared to meet our lofty valuation of the midfielder while also convincing him to commit to a lucrative deal, the pieces may well fall into place for a transfer to materialise.
Based on the report above, we’re nowhere near that stage as of yet as there isn’t any suggestion that Kamara is looking to move on, but certainly, the longer the doubts persist over his contract status and with Villa not yet announcing any sales to ensure we comply with PSR before the June 30 deadline, there could be anxious wait ahead before it’s determined who will leave to give us a crucial financial boost.
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