Lamare Bogarde ‘must step up for Aston Villa’ as Onana injury update emerges

Lamare Bogarde must step up for Aston Villa while Amadou Onana is absent through injury.

The Belgium international went off in the first half against Arsenal in the aftermath of Gabriel Martinelli’s opener at the Emirates.

The 23-year-old then missed the Champions League clash against Monaco on Tuesday (21 October) and now looks likely to be out for longer.

Jacob Tanswell has reported (22 January) that the summer signing is expected to miss upcoming fixtures against West Ham and Celtic with a hamstring injury which could give Bogarde the perfect chance to impress.

Lamare Bogarde must step up for Aston Villa after Amadou Onana injury

As good as Onana was in the early stages of his Villa Park career, his influence has been felt less since the return of Boubacar Kamara in October.

Regardless of this, the ex-Everton man will still be missed and the qualities he brings to Unai Emery’s squad need to be replaced.

The most like-for-like replacement that the Spaniard has is to hand the young Dutchman a regular opportunity from the start in B6.

The 21-year-old proved that he had the capability to play a role for the Villans as an early substitute against Arsenal where he completed 100 per cent of his attempted passes [FotMob].

This wasn’t the only positive aspect of his game as the youngster also won two tackles and four duels while also contributing four other defensive actions.

Amadou Onana Aston Villa
Credit: Imago

Bogarde did make a four-minute cameo against Monaco in the Champions League but Emery needs to trust the versatile defensive midfielder to feature more regularly.

With Onana missing again, it is the perfect opportunity for the former Bristol Rovers loanee to get his chance.

In other Aston Villa news, a Sky Sports editor has shared a shock £55m transfer update.

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