ZIMBABWE international midfielder Marvelous Nakamba could find himself in new competition for the starting place at Aston Villa after the English Premiership football club yesterday announced the signing of Frenchman Boubacar Kamara on a five-year contract.
Apparently Villa head coach Steven Gerrard had been forced to go on the market to strengthen the midfield department after Nakamba had spent four months sidelined by injury.
According to reports from Villa sites, Gerrard had established that the defensive-midfield spot was one of the weakest in the team, after his side drifted to a 14th place finish in the just-ended 2021-2022 English Premiership campaign.
Nakamba and Brazilian Douglas Luiz were the only two to be able to fill in effectively. But the Zimbabwean midfielder has been injured for a large portion of the season, leaving Luiz to shoulder the responsibility.
But there have also been rumours that Luiz may be on the verge of exiting Villa Park this summer. Villa have been tracking the 22-year-old Kamara for some time and Gerrard made a personal visit alongside club CEO, Christian Purslow, and sporting director, Johan Lange, to watch him in action.
“Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of Boubacar Kamara on a five-year contract,” the club announced yesterday.
“The 22-year-old midfielder, who has just won his first call-up to the France national team after a fantastic season at Olympique Marseille, will join Villa following the expiry of his contract with the French club.
“Kamara came through the youth ranks at Marseille, going on to rack up well over a century of appearances for the first team, which made him one of the most in-demand young players in European football.
“He played a key role in this season’s Ligue 1 campaign for Marseille when they were runners-up and in a successful run to the Europa League semi-finals.” Villa head coach Gerrard is already planning for the future and he told the club’s website: “I am delighted that we have been able to attract one of the most promising young talents in European football. We have a very clear plan to make our team stronger and Bouba is an important part of that.”