‘Fantastic’ Aston Villa star dealt fresh snub despite recent developments
Aston Villa will send plenty of their team off for international duty when the second break of the season starts next week.
The last break came at a good time for Unai Emery, but next week is expected to halt the Spaniard’s momentum.
Goals from Ollie Watkins, John McGinn, and Emi Buendia saw Villa beat Fulham 3-1 on Sunday, marking their first Premier League win of the season.
And on Thursday, Villa will play Feyenoord in the Europa League, with Emery hoping to make it three consecutive victories for the Villans.
Villa will play Burnley on Sunday, with the Spaniard’s hope being that his side will have won four consecutive games before the international break.
Boubacar Kamara snubbed by Didier Deschamps
Boubacar Kamara was excellent for Villa against Sunderland following his return from injury, and the midfielder has continued to prove his importance in the games since.
As Emery’s side beat Bologna last week, the Frenchman dominated the midfield exchanges.
Winning more duels than any other player on the pitch, Kamara constantly got stuck in to clean up counter attacks and win possession back for his team.
| Boubacar Kamara | Vs Bologna (H) |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 34/41 |
| Tackles won | 3/5 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
| Ground duels won | 8/13 |
| Aerial duels won | 4/4 |
But despite the 25-year-old’s brilliance for Villa, Didier Deschamps has decided to leave him out of the France squad for the upcoming international fixtures.
Fellow Villa man Lucas Digne has been selected, but the likes of Manu Kone and Kephren Thuram have been selected over Kamara.
Kamara should be in the France squad
Kamara can feel very unlucky not to have made the France squad. This season, despite playing less minutes than Kone and Thuram, the midfielder has offered vastly better defensive numbers.
In the roles they play for AS Roma and Juventus, respectively, Kamara’s compatriots do offer more going forward.
But there is no better defensive midfielder named by Deschamps in the France squad than Kamara.
The World Cup-winning manager is aware of the 25-year-old, having handed him his debut in 2022, before selecting him for several games in 2023.
But since Kamara’s knee injury in the second half of the 2023-24 season, Deschamps has appeared to ignore the midfielder’s exploits for Villa.
Upon his return last year, the Frenchman got straight back into form, with Emery describing him as “fantastic” following Villa’s 1-0 win over Everton in January.
Unfortunately for the former Marseille man, his only choice is to get his head down and continue performing for the Villans. Though he must be wondering what he must do to once again catch the 56-year-old’s eye.
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