Aston Villa confirmed on Monday that they’d signed Boubacar Kamara on a five-year deal from Olympique Marseille. The 22-year-old is a centre-back and defensive-midfielder who’d been a regular at the Stade Vélodrome for four seasons, so he’s got plenty of top-flight experience despite the young age.
The season isn’t over but Villa have now completed their second piece of transfer business this summer after procuring Philippe Coutinho on a permanent deal. Noel Whelan praised Steven Gerrard and the club for getting another transfer over the line so quickly.
He told Football Insider: “Getting business done early is imperative. Aston Villa get it right all the time with transfers. They don’t mess about – this is literally hours after the end of the season.
“Steven Gerrard has identified who he wants. The board and the backroom staff are going all out to try and make that happen. The money is down on the table without any messing about or newspaper reports. I love that about Aston Villa. It’s brilliant.”
Kamara has made 170 appearances in all competitions for Marseille, scoring four goals with six assists. The uncapped Frenchman has missed only seven Ligue 1 games in the last two seasons, so he should be a reliable player for Gerrard.
Kamara is good at his craft too, boasting 68 tackles, 46 interceptions, 42 clearances, 10 blocked shots, 16 successful dribbles, 41 aerial duels won and 90.6% of his passes completed, so he looks a good piece of business.
Villa signed him on a free transfer after his deal ran down in France, so the squad has been strengthened without a fee being paid.
In other news, last summer’s Aston Villa exit has been terrible for Anwar El Ghazi
