After returning from injury in midweek, Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara provided a reminder of just how important his influence is for Unai Emery.
The 25-year-old has had a difficult year due to injury, after a serious knee issue ruled him out from February onwards before he returned at the back end of October and gradually reintegrated back into the team.
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Unfortunately, he suffered a minor setback prior to the most recent international break which sidelined him again, but he made his comeback against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday night and it almost looked like he had never been away.
While the statistics tell their own story about how important Kamara is for Villa and Emery in his preferred system and structure, it goes well beyond the numbers when considering his influence and impact in the Villa XI.
The Frenchman’s positional awareness and intelligence make him a pillar of this side when he’s fully fit, as he provides a defensive shield in front of the backline and gives us much need protection and balance with the work he does both in and out of possession.
Further, he has the composure and technical ability to dictate tempo and control proceedings, while his quick-thinking and vision also helps us break the lines quickly and get us on the front-foot with pace to hurt the opposition and create openings.
Amadou Onana has been excellent since he arrived over the summer, albeit he still has room for improvement to become a consistently influential figure for us in midfield.
However, Kamara is at another level when in top form, and it’s hoped that he can continue to develop a fundamental partnership with Youri Tielemans in our deeper pivot, while we have the strength in depth with Onana and Ross Barkley to rotate and rest that duo when necessary and avoid a significant drop off in quality of performance.
Emery noted in his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of our clash with Chelsea that he’s still managing Kamara’s minutes to help him get back to full speed, but he underlined his importance and how positive it is to have multiple options in those positions now.
“Kamara is getting better,” he told the media, as per VillaTV. “He had a small injury. He was not available one match before. He was feeling comfortable and I decided to replace him the last 20 minutes [against Juventus] because he needs minutes, but as well to be careful with the minutes he is playing.
“If everything is going well, if he comes through tomorrow well then my idea is to use the better player on Sunday as well and one of them is Kamara. With Kamara, Barkley, Onana and Tielemans I am happy. I want each player to compete in each position we have. In the middle we now have players we are happy with.”
As seen in the video below of Kamara’s display against Juventus though, if he can stay healthy, show consistency and get back to his best, there will be no budging him from the Villa line-up, such is his importance and influence on how we play.
It’s such a significant boost to have him back fit again, and it’s hoped that he can go from strength to strength in the coming weeks and months as we look to end our winless streak and build real momentum going into the festive period and beyond.
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