Lamare Bogarde gives Unai Emery something to think about after what's emerged from Aston Villa win
Lamare Bogarde was particularly impressive during Aston Villa's 2-1 win over Basel on Thursday.
Goals from Evann Guessand and Youri Tielemans were enough to leave Villa third in the Europa League and level with league leaders Lyon on 15 points.
Villa are the favourites to win the Europa League, and their win in Switzerland has put them on the verge of finishing in the top eight.
Bogarde has featured regularly throughout the European campaign, and he stepped up his level with a versatile performance against Basel.
Lamare Bogarde was assured on the ball vs Basel
Having been underwhelming at both right-back and centre-back already this season, he has excelled in midfield, and he looks to have found a home under Emery.
Despite having a slow start to the match, Bogarde quickly grew into the game against Basel and was one of Villa's stronger performers on a successful night.
According to FotMob, Bogarde registered a pass accuracy of 92 per cent, while also winning 75 per cent of his ground duels.
| Stat | Bogarde |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Pass accuracy | 56/61 (92%) |
| Ground duels won | 9/12 (75%) |
| Tackles | 4 |
Bogarde was also the most fouled player in the match (four) and made eight recoveries against a resilient Basel side.
Despite being behind Tielemans, Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara in the pecking order, Bogarde has proven multiple times that he can step up in their absence.
With the 21-year-old coming through the academy, Villa will certainly not invest in a central midfielder in the January transfer window as they look to speed up his development in B6.
How high is Lamare Bogarde's ceiling?
Tielemans and Onana's injury woes have left Bogarde having to cover the void in midfield, which has been a huge benefit to his development.
The Dutchman has already made 17 appearances this campaign, one more than in the entirety of 2024-25.
In the Premier League this season, Bogarde has a pass accuracy of 93.3 per cent, with only 3.7 per cent of midfielders in the top flight registering a higher figure.
With his development already skyrocketing in the last 12 months, Thursday's display shows that there is still a long way to go before he reaches his full potential.
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