Anthony Onifade

Sat 13 January 2024 19:10, UK

NSWE may well have worked wonders at Aston Villa with the likes of Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara now priced at £100m each if they were to be sold this summer.

Unai Emery admitted in his pre-match press conference on Friday (12 January) ahead of Sunday’s game against Everton that the club may have to sell a key player this summer as they aim to stay in line with FFP spending rules.

As per Mail Sport, (13 January, page 5) Financial Fair Play regulations have been high on the agenda for Premier League clubs with Nottingham Forest now set to learn their fate on Monday whether they have breached the rules like Everton who received a 10-point deduction earlier this season.

Villa are likely to be cautious this window and may be set to sell a number of their fringe players to do some business with the likes of Calum Chambers and Bertrand Traore both set to be offloaded.

It remains to be seen whether Emery will do business this month but Aston Villa will certainly be busy this summer as the Spaniard looks to push the club into the bright lights of European football in the Champions League.

However, to do that, some of their key players will have to be sold and according to Mail Sport both Kamara and Luiz, who have been crucial performers throughout Emery’s tenure, are priced at £100m each.

NSWE have especially worked wonders with Kamara who was bought by Steven Gerrard in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer from Marseille but has seen his value skyrocket in under two years.

The Frenchman has been superb this season and has brought upon himself the reputation of becoming one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League, and his influence in the team has been evident when he’s not been there.

As per SofaScore, the former Marseille man has averaged 1.1 interceptions per game, 2.3 tackles, 4.9 balls recovered per game, won 52% of his ground duels and successfully completed 90% of his passes per game this season.

Kamara’s influence on the team is made all the more evident in the fact that his presence so far this season has won Aston Villa 2.31 points per game which is the 10th most in the division [FBRef].

The Frenchman will surely be attracting plenty of interest in the summer window but clubs will be faced with a price tag of £100m if they want to take him off Emery’s hands.

The same can be said of Douglas Luiz who has become the embodiment of everything good about Villa and is certainly worth every bit of £100m right now.

When compared to his positional peers in the Premier League, he sits in the 93rd percentile for goals scored per 90 minutes, averaging one every three games [Fbref].

While most critics will point to the number of penalties the Aston Villa midfielder has taken this season, he has proven to be a creative force for his teammates as well, producing more shot-creating actions per match than 85 per cent of Premier League midfielders.

Luiz really helps Aston Villa drive up the field and towards the opposition’s goal, playing an average of 1.47 key passes a game, a number which places him in the top 22 per cent of his peers in England’s top division.

In his 19 Premier League appearances this season, Luiz has scored six goals and registered three assists. That means the Brazilian midfielder has played a part in 20.9 per cent of all Aston Villa’s league goals this season, a remarkable figure for a holding midfielder.

Both Kamara and Luiz have been the driving force for Aston Villa at the heart of the midfield and could well be the crucial pair that drive Villa into the Champions League lights next season if their tremendous progress continues in the second half of the season.

While Emery is working his magic in the dugout, NSWE will be delighted behind the scenes at the project they’ve built which suggests they’ve done remarkable wonders to bring Aston Villa to where they are right now.

In other Aston Villa news, Fabrizio Romano has shared an update on Villa and Leonardo Spinazzola, with a Roma exit now expected.