View: Douglas Luiz continuing to thrive in Aston Villa attack thanks to Boubacar Kamara defensive duties
Douglas Luiz didn’t have the best of starts to the Premier League season, but ever since Unai Emery took the reins at Aston Villa, he has looked a man possessed.
The Brazilian midfielder started just three of Villa’s opening eight league fixtures under previous manager Steven Gerrard, as the Englishman struggled to find the winning formula in midfield.
Summer recruit Boubacar Kamara was deemed a replacement for Luiz in Gerrard’s eyes, with John McGinn and the Frenchman the two regular starters during Villa’s early season struggles.
However, Emery has since proven that Luiz and Kamara can provide Villa with a Rolls-Royce midfield partnership they have been searching for over the past five years – and a pairing that compliments the Spaniard’s favoured 4-4-2 formation to perfection.
Luiz has been a central figure in the Aston Villa revival in recent months, having started all ten Premier League fixtures since Gerrard was given the boot. During this period, the 24-year-old has picked a goal and four assists – more goal involvements than either of his two previous campaigns in the West Midlands.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, The Athletic’s Dan Bardell highlighted that Kamara’s arrival at the club has allowed the Brazilian to turn on his samba flair in attack.
He said: “I think at the start of the season, Luiz was really hard done by not to be in the team. He had a decent pre-season, and because Villa had a designated defensive midfielder finally with Kamara, I felt like it was a chance to utilise Luiz and play him further forward.
“But Gerrard just never seemed to want to pick him.
“He’s obviously stepped up from set-pieces now, and he’s getting goals and assists from corners and free-kicks that he wasn’t doing before, but he’s clearly such a talented footballer, and he’ll be back in the Brazil squad later this year because he’s bossing the Premier League recently.
“I just think having that partner in Kamara helps him as they just complement each other really well. They’ve just got a lovely understanding of each other, they’re both really good on the ball, they’re both great in tight spaces with their close control, and they can both dictate the tempo of a match.
“When he’s got Kamara next to him, Luiz knows that if he gets caught out higher up the pitch, it’s not the end of the world because Kamara is there. It provides Luiz with the freedom to get forward and get involved in the final third more often than he was doing last season.
“I think it’s really blossoming into a brilliant midfield partnership for Villa.”
Having persuaded Luiz to pen a new long-term contract at Villa Park in the summer – amid considerable transfer interest from Arsenal – the club have highlighted their ambitions to make him a key cog in proceedings for many years to come.
The £15million fee Aston Villa paid for the former Manchester City midfielder in 2019 is looking like a better business every time Luiz takes to the field, and if the club were to ever sell him, they would definitely make a considerable profit.
With Luiz and Kamara at the heart of their midfield, Villa have a pair who could match almost any team in the Premier League toe to toe.
At 23 and 24 years old, respectively, both have the ability to be in Villa’s midfield for many years to come.