Aston Villa once again saw numerous new players make their way to Villa Park during the recent summer transfer window.
In addition to spending significant amounts of money on players such as Diego Carlos and Leander Dendoncker, the Villans also secured permanent deals for the likes of Robin Olsen and Philippe Coutinho following their previous loan spells at the Midlands club.
However, one deal that took place over the summer that didn’t cost Villa a penny that we feel has been a transfer masterclass from them and Steven Gerrard is their move for Boubacar Kamara.
Back in May, the Villa Park outfit secured a five-year deal for the midfielder, who had previously been described as a “phenomenon” by Rolando, on a free transfer from French club Marseille.
Since joining the Midlands club, the 22-year-old has started all six of Villa’s Premier League games, leaving Lucas Digne as the only outfield player at the club with more minutes to his name than Kamara.
This shows how highly Gerrard rates the £150k-per-week summer recruit and trusts him in the middle of the park.
Bearing in mind how the Frenchman currently has more successful tackles (15), successful pressures (47) and interceptions (12) than any other Villa player, this highlights just how important he has quickly become for the team.
After featuring in Villa’s recent 1-1 draw against Manchester City, Ashley Preece had this to say about the player in his player ratings report for the Birmingham Mail.
He said: “Mopped up well in the middle of the pitch and linked up nicely with fellow crisp passer Douglas Luiz in Villa’s engine room. Kamara snuffs out danger so well.”
This highlights just how effective and important he can be when faced against tough opposition.
Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that even though Villa sealed a permanent deal for Coutinho following his impressive spell with them in the second half of last season, their deal for Kamara could well be seen as their best bit of business in the latest summer transfer window.
