Boubacar Kamara

[Mic09]

I've watched him like 10 times last season. He is the real deal. Excellent player. 

[The Fun Factory]

Someone we can build a side around but with less floppy hair and bad shins.

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

 

[Dale]

11 minutes ago, jim said:

Unbelievable get.

We are signing players under this regime we could only dream about in the past.

Without meaning to be funny, under Lerner we signed a bunch of high potential signings from France 19-23. Amavi and Gueye in particular had high profiles (and they signed under Sherwood to their detriment). Kamara had he had big interest from huge clubs would have signed a pre contract months ago.

I think this is a good signing, but it's a bit of a stretch to describe it as beyond Aston Villa sans Steven Gerrard. I think it's fanciful. 

[Dante_Lockhart]

Gerrard is said to be disappointed in the board as he asked for Glen Kamara

[HalfTimePost]

1 minute ago, imavillan said:

Lots of excitement in here today, but the big question is.

How many games/weeks will VT'ers give him before the ''he's crap, can't pass, he's slow and a shit Gerrard signing'' posts start? 

 

 

My concern is more around physicality and break up play (Disclaimer: I'm not saying he's bad, he's going to be great for us, just that with so long without a DM and 2 years of trying to get one, I'm nervous the fanbase expect Prime Viera)

Kamara can certainly pass and keep the ball moving, he will give us the dimension that Nakamba lacks that when we get the ball he can move it forward quickly and make us a better possession or counter attacking threat. The passing is not my concern.

However, if Villa fans think we've signed the new Viera (or, less Brutish but high-energy, breaking play up archetypes like Makelele/Kante) we have not.  

We will need to give him time to settle into the league and he'll likely need to bulk up a bit. I hope we give him a bit of time, or (more likely) some more help in midfield to bolster our physicality whilst he adjusts to the league.

Put Bissouma alongside him and we're probably golden. The two of them together would shore up the midfield. Add aggression and physicality and also be able to hold onto the ball. But Bissouma & Kamara probably makes us less attacking and means we'll likely have to lose Luiz, which would be a shame as think we'd see a new side of him as an out & out 8.

Anyway, a truly exciting signing. Can't wait for August 6th

[Okonokos]

Disappointed with the speed of this signing to be fair. Would have preferred a 2000 page thread with fish puns dragged out over the entire summer instead. NSWE out.

[sne]

1 minute ago, Dante_Lockhart said:

Gerrard is said to be disappointed in the board as he asked for Glen Kamara

Any Glen will do. Sorry, any Kamara will do.

[pintpotvilla]

7 minutes ago, HalfTimePost said:

Put Bissouma alongside him

There's no chance Kamara will be the only DCM we sign, as you say Bissouma would be a solid option but we shouldn't rule out Phillips either

[Sulberto21]

32 minutes ago, Nigel said:

Tactical 

 

In every season of top-flight football, there are few stories more regular than utter turmoil going on at Olympique Marseille. In this season just gone – the 2020/21 campaign – André Villas-Boas, head coach since 2019, was sacked midway through the season after a debacle with the board over the signing of Olivier Ntcham – a player he was actively against signing. He offered his resignation, but Marseille decided to sack him in response to his comments where he stated ‘I don’t want anything from OM. I don’t want money’. Not exactly comfortable grounds for a player to thrive at.

Boubacar Kamara, instead, has performed well consistently for the last three seasons, starting regularly since the age of 18. Now 21, Kamara has been coveted by Europe’s elite since he was a teenager, but till this point he has remained at Marseille, accumulating consistent gametime for a team battling at the top of Ligue 1. Teams within the Premier League are now calling for his signature, and in this scout report, we will break down why he has garnered so much interest.

In this tactical analysis, we will cover his role at Marseille, his adaptability, and which team he might suit best in the English top flight.

Player profile

Since day dot, Kamara has been with Marseille, joining the club in 2005 and has stayed with them ever since. He has risen through the youth ranks at a rapid rate, moving from what is essentially kids football to the U19 squad aged 15 years old, a couple of years earlier than the typical trajectory. Only a year later did he make the move to the Marseille B team, Then, the year after that, Kamara made his first-team debut, in the Europa League versus Konyaspor, a match where Marseille would keep a clean sheet.

He began his time in the senior squad filling in wherever he could gain meaningful gametime. That aforementioned match against Konyaspor was at central-midfield, the next game versus RB Salzburg would be in the deep-lying midfielder role, two games later he was featuring at left-back. It was the 2018/19 season where Kamara would embed himself as a first-choice starter as a centre-back. He played a pivotal role in Marseille building out from the back and was the shining light in a poor defence.

Standing at 5’10” / 178cm, he was always more suited to that space ahead of the centre-backs and was never going to spend the long-term in a back four due to his relatively short height for a central defender. He is no slouch aerially, but he is less of a liability up against shorter attacking midfielders than tall target men inside the area. It was the latter half of the 2019/20 season where he would make that transition into defensive midfield, a position that brought the best out of his defensive skill set.

Defensive duties first

Principally, Kamara is focused first on defending and little else. Marseille are not a side who aimed to keep possession more than their opponent in every game, but sometimes their quality on the ball shined through to maintain the ball for the majority of the game. This culminated into a 52% average for possession per game, and as a result, Kamara’s defensive actions need little possession adjustment. With this taken into consideration, Kamara has a reasonably high 

From the radar above, we can understand that Kamara has defensive acumen. Even if he doesn’t produce an insane amount of defensive volume, the 21-year-old will come away with the ball more times than not. 67.86% of defensive duels won is a mammoth figure, and a testament to the growth he has made as a defender with Marseille. Not to say he doesn’t have his drawbacks defensively, but he is up there with some of the better defensive midfielders in Ligue 1 in this department.

André Villas-Boas messed around with a few formations at the start of the season, but primarily he used a 4-2-3-1, where Kamara played as the left-sided midfielder in a double pivot with Valentin Roniger, but when the Portuguese coach utilised a single pivot formation (4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1), Kamara was the nominal pivot of choice. His defensive style remains the same in both systems, but his positioning is the biggest change. In a double-pivot, he can be slightly more aggressive in a formation that lends itself more to sparking quick counterattacks.

Kamara tends to remain upright in his defensive duels, not looking to lunge in unnecessarily or concede needless fouls. If he can win the ball by nipping from under his opponent’s feet, then that’s ideal for Kamara. He enjoys winning the ball back and sparking measured attacking plays for his side. He can occasionally barrel into his opponent, conceding a foul that way, but for the most part, he guides his body well when looking to tackle the ball off of a ball carrier.

Fundamentally, he can get ball-side of the attacker thanks to his solid defensive positioning and game sense. He has good awareness and is seen frequently scanning the pitch – something that he has improved significantly over the last two years – and this allows him to predict the opponent’s passes, and it helps him to deduce whether to step out or hold his line. He currently only completes 1.07 interceptions per 90, but at a club that requires more from him off the ball, this could easily rise.

Overall, he is an excellent defensive-minded midfielder. His game sense has developed so much thanks to the plentiful amount of minutes he’s earned at the French club. He wins 42.4% of duels versus dribblers and completes 35.2% of his pressures too, both around the 90th percentile across Europe’s top five leagues, and these represent a defensive midfielder who is hard to get past, regardless of who you are.

Abilities as a progressor

On the ball, Kamara handles himself with aplomb, and he has demonstrated good passing range, vision, and ambition. He is central to Marseille’s build-up play, but this is part and parcel of being the central-most midfielder in the system. Jorge Sampaoli eventually switched to a 3-5-2, where Kamara plays like a #6, typically playing quick, zipped short passes between himself and the teammates around him.

From the above radar, we can tell that Kamara is heavily involved in Marseille’s build-up – he is only second to Roniger within regular Marseille starters for passes made per 90 (55.09). We can also understand that Kamara looks to move the ball forwards as often as possible, he plays 18.1 forward passes per 90 at an 81.8% success rate. These can range from simple passes into midfield, or rangier efforts into the wide areas or straight into the centre-forward of choice.

These direct balls into the forward line have become more prevalent with the introduction of Arkadiusz Milik from Napoli midway through the season. On top of scoring at a fairly prolific rate in his short time at Marseille, he has also been a useful towering presence upfront. For the most part, however, Kamara is playing short passes in midfield, as he seemingly has a strong understanding of when to pass the ball laterally or vertically, when to increase the tempo or decrease it.

In possession, Kamara is very conscious of his surroundings, scanning all around him before receiving the ball if he can. When he collects the ball, he demonstrates a good first-touch, and occasionally he will smartly utilise his first-touch and momentum to drift into space to give himself more time on the ball. In this sense, he is quite a press-resistant midfielder, capable of evading pressure and laying off to a more progressive teammate is usually the port to call.

Although, Kamara can produce positive forward passes over a long distance. Despite only completing 4.45 progressive passes per 90 (60th percentile for Europe’s top five leagues midfielder’s), he manages 281.2 yards when it comes to progressive distance (82nd percentile), which suggests that the progressive efforts he does pull off are covering a lot of ground. 

Live footage of “Tee Argh Oh” whilst he reads this post;

 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Him and Sanson played together at Marseille didn't they?

Do we reckon Sanson might have the faintest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel to play with him again?

Or has that ship reached Australia alrady?

[theboyangel]

What an excellent and exciting acquisition! Well done to the transfer committee

[Dante_Lockhart]

4 minutes ago, pintpotvilla said:

There's no chance Kamara will be the only DCM we sign, as you say Bissouma would be a solid option but we shouldn't rule out Phillips either

------------------------NEW ST------------------------

----RAMSEY----COUTINHO---BUENDIA--

---------PHILLIPS---------KAMARA------------

DIGNE-----MINGS------NEW CB-----CASH

---------------------------EMI---------------------------

Nice.

[CLARETANDBLUEFOXY]

Hearing rumours that Man City are already preparing a £200 million bid for three years time if he excels here as we are their official feeder club, after all!

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

1 minute ago, Dante_Lockhart said:

------------------------NEW ST------------------------

----RAMSEY----COUTINHO---BUENDIA--

---------PHILLIPS---------KAMARA------------

DIGNE-----MINGS------NEW CB-----CASH

---------------------------EMI---------------------------

Nice.

DEPTH!

I highly doubt we go after Phillips now, especially with Leeds safe, and especially not at the rumoured prices.

I wouldn't want us to anyway.

You do wonder if a more experienced CM alongside Kamara would help though.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Another thought, does anyone think, with the signing of say, 2 quality DCMs, SG might want to convince Luiz to stay, and tell him he will be playing in his preferred 8 role from now on?

[kevpants]

3 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Him and Sanson played together at Marseille didn't they?

Do we reckon Sanson might have the faintest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel to play with him again?

Or has that ship reached Australia alrady?

I think with a manager that joins half way through a season the tendency is to stick with the players who were first choice and make small changes. Whoesale changes come over pre-season and into next season. If Sanson wants to stay and fight and impresses then he has a chance, if he doesn't then f&%k him anyway.

[VillaParkAvenue]

Just now, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

DEPTH!

I highly doubt we go after Phillips now, especially with Leeds safe, and especially not at the rumoured prices.

I wouldn't want us to anyway.

You do wonder if a more experienced CM alongside Kamara would help though.

I doubt it too, Gerrard will most likely stick to a midfield three with a single defensive mid rather than a double pivot. That's also how Kamara played at Marseille.

But adding a new CM would be nice.

[picicata]

21 minutes ago, Okonokos said:

Disappointed with the speed of this signing to be fair. Would have preferred a 2000 page thread with fish puns dragged out over the entire summer instead. NSWE out.

I'm sure you'll get your wish at some point during the summer window

[DakotaVilla]

25 minutes ago, Dale said:

Without meaning to be funny, under Lerner we signed a bunch of high potential signings from France 19-23. Amavi and Gueye in particular had high profiles (and they signed under Sherwood to their detriment). Kamara had he had big interest from huge clubs would have signed a pre contract months ago.

I think this is a good signing, but it's a bit of a stretch to describe it as beyond Aston Villa sans Steven Gerrard. I think it's fanciful. 

He would not even have returned the phone call if Gerrard and Coutinho had not been here. He turned down Athletico Madrid - he’s not turning them down for dean smith.