Unai Emery has had a lot to deal with this season, but the absence of Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara has been one of the most detrimental factors.
Our injury luck this year has been horrible, with key players missing significant chunks of the campaign, while form has naturally dipped at times where we’ve suffered disappointing results.
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However, we’ve still remained competitive and enjoyed a brilliant season to date as we sit in the top four in the Premier League and have reached the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, but in order to ensure this ends as a successful campaign, Emery has to find a critical solution to arguably our biggest problem.
Kamara suffered a season-ending knee injury in our defeat to Man Utd on February 11, and our struggles without him have been highlighted in the run since as we’re not the same defensive team with that hole in our midfield.
The Frenchman made 20 appearances in the Premier league this season, and in those outings we’ve won 13, drawn two and lost five, while conceding 22 goals.
In 12 League games without Kamara, Villa have won five, drawn four and lost three. In those 12 games, we’ve conceded 27 goals. Further, Villa have conceded two or more goals in eight of 12 league matches played without him.
The balance he brings to the side, coupled with his defensive strengths through his tactical awareness, positioning and reading of the game has made us a much more difficult side to break down, and subsequently it has helped significantly to put us in a position to go and win games.
Additionally, his presence in the side not only helps shield the backline, but it gives licence to the likes of Douglas Luiz and John McGinn to play more advanced and be influential in the final third.
Villa haven’t solved the issue that his absence presents yet, as evidenced by the numbers detailed above.
Emery has tried different combinations in midfield. Whether that’s Luiz and Youri Tielemans together or McGinn playing deeper, but the balance is clearly off and we’ve not been able to stem the number of goals that we’re conceding. Further, without that calmness and composure in the midfield battle, we’re not as effective in protecting leads and seeing out games.
It will be crucial to how this season plays out, and so the Villa boss will hopefully find a combination or tweak that proves to be impactful and effective. The Villa midfield will look different in our next two league encounters against Arsenal and Bournemouth with Luiz suspended, and so that’s the first selection headache that he’ll have to deal with.
Will a Tielemans-McGinn pairing prove to be more positive? Should Tim Iroegbunam be given a bigger role? Do we change our system and shape, or is that too much of a gamble at this stage of the season?
It’s certainly clear that it’s an area of the squad that has to be addressed in the summer to bring in reinforcements to provide depth and cover, but in the coming weeks, we’ll have to find a solution from within that can fill that Kamara void as best as possible.