New Aston Villa arrival Boubacar Kamara sends thank you message to fans after impressive debut
Aston Villa fans have a new favourite in Boubacar Kamara, and the French midfielder returned the love in an Instagram message.
The French midfielder made his debut in Villa’s friendly win over Leeds United on Sunday morning (17 July), playing 45 minutes as they edged out The Whites for the win.
His performance left fans raving about their new star, and Kamara took to Instagram to send a thank you message to the Villa faithful on Monday morning (18 July).
“Yesterday was a special day for me, I’m very proud to play my first game for the club,” the message read.
“Thank you so much to my teammates and the fans for the amazing welcome. Up the Villans.”
What Villa needed
While you cannot pass judgement based on 45 minutes in a friendly, Kamara is looking like he is what Villa have needed for years.
His all-action display against Leeds saw him excel in every aspect of midfield play, sending a strong message to the fans and his new teammates
Kamara displayed pinpoint passing, racking up a 98% passing accuracy with all of his five long passes finding a Villa shirt (RDScouting).
His defensive stats were just as good, winning four defensive duels and making three ball recoveries as he displayed his talents at both ends of the pitch.
Villa have needed a player like Kamara for years now, a classy operator that can both win the ball and accurately progress it up the pitch.
Their previous holding midfield options could only do one or the other, with Marvelous Nakamba being an excellent defender but a poor passer and Douglas Luiz being the opposite.
Having Kamara there frees Luiz up to play further up the pitch and rival John McGinn for his place, assuming Luiz stays for next season.
It is refreshing to see a summer where Villa fans do not have to ask for a new defensive midfielder on a daily basis, and Kamara should excel at the base of Villa’s midfield.
In other Aston Villa news, the club have been offered the chance to re-sign Ross Barkley by Chelsea.