Aston Villa: Boubacar Kamara blow hands Tim Iroegbunam chance to break Villa Park academy curse
Aston Villa midfielder Tim Iroegbunam could now be offered the chance to break a worrying academy trend at Villa Park after a damaging new injury blow to Boubacar Kamara.
Unai Emery’s side suffered another huge injury blow with David Ornstein confirming on Monday (12 February) that Kamara will remain sidelined for the remainder of the Premier League season having suffered a knee ligament injury during the defeat to Manchester United.
The Frenchman was seen wincing and feeling his knee once he came off which will certainly have not been a welcome sight for Emery or any Aston Villa fan for that matter as they look to secure Champions League qualification for the first time.
Kamara’s injury at Villa Park now leaves Emery desperately short of options in the middle of the park, especially after the club allowed Leander Dendoncker to depart Villa Park for the remainder of the season, with the Belgian joining Serie A Champions Napoli on an initial loan deal, with a £7.7million option to buy clause. [Fabrizio Romano, 24 January].
Boubacar Kamara impact at Aston Villa will be difficult to replace
The Frenchman has been arguably one of Emery’s best four players at Villa Park this season with some dominant and exceptional displays at the heart of the midfield for Aston Villa alongside Luiz.
As per SofaScore, the former Marseille man has averaged 1.1 interceptions per game, 2.2 tackles, 4.9 balls recovered per game, won 52% of his ground duels and 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 have surely been attracting plenty of interest in the summer window from Europe’s elite clubs who will be faced with a price tag of £100m if they want to take him off Emery’s hands.
Against Manchester United, Kamara was at the heart of everything good about Emery’s team. As per SofaScore, Kamara completed 100 per cent of his dribbles, driving through the heart of the United midfield at will.
He also won 80 per cent of his ground duels, only lost possession three times, accurately completing a whopping 94 per cent of his passes.
And how Emery plans to replace the Frenchman in what will be a critical and testing few weeks and months for Aston Villa as they look forward to their Europa Conference League knockout campaign and an assault on the Champions League places in the Premier League, remains to be seen.
Tim Iroegbunam can put an end to unwanted Villa Park academy trend
However, Kamara’s fresh blow at the club does present an opportunity for Iroegbunam to not only stake a claim but to finally break an unwanted academy curse at Villa Park with fans desperate to see the first emerging star since Jacob Ramsey.
The Villa fans have seen so many academy products leave the club in search of first-team football elsewhere and also down to a lack of opportunities in Emery’s squad.
The likes of Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey and Jaden Philogene all sought greener pastures last summer and Iroegbunam was expected to follow suit after several exit reports.
The Sunday Mirror journalist Darren Witcoop tweeted on 22 December that Villa were open to a permanent transfer for the 20-year-old academy gem but any move for the youngster failed to materialise and now a burgeoning new opportunity has arisen for him in the face of Kamara’s development.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Queens Park Rangers last season, featuring in 32 Championship games and scoring two goals.
While on loan in West London last season, the midfielder stepped up his defensive displays, averaging 2.0 tackles per game, 0.8 interceptions, winning an average of 5.2 duels and drawing 1.3 fouls in the middle of the park. [Sofascore]
Iroegbunam has been involved in several of Emery’s matchday squads for Villa and featured for the under-21s in the Football League trophy against Crawley Town in a 3-2 defeat (7 November) making a major impression.
Despite his limited minutes, Iroegbunam completed 100 per cent of his passes at Old Trafford in a 3-2 loss in December which showed he has plenty to offer.
As per SofaScore, the young English talent was a monster off the ball, winning a whopping 16 duels in his 90 minutes of action, recording 73 touches, completing 75% of his passes, recording two key passes, four dribbles and winning eight fouls in an eventful and dominant display.
While both Youri Tielemans and John McGinn are capable of dropping deeper and filling the void left by the Frenchman at the base of midfield, Emery may risk using Iroegbunam having already begun to blood him into the first team picture this season.
It’s time a new star arises from the academy and stakes a claim in the first team like Ramsey and Iroegbunam may finally have that chance with Emery desperately short of options in his position.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton thinks Ramsey may face a “difficult” battle to play regularly after Leon Bailey’s contract extension
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.