Why Kamara injury blow ends Aston Villa's Champions League hopes

 

 

On Monday afternoon, as Aston Villa fans continued to shake their heads and wonder how on earth their team had contrived to lose to Manchester United the day before, more cruel news struck: Boubacar Kamara is out for the rest of the season - and potentially the rest of 2024 - due to a torn ACL sustained during the game. 

 

Such was the frenetic and stressful nature of the match, in which Villa missed chance after chance and were brutally punished for it by Scott McTominay, many had dismissed the images of Kamara hobbling off down the tunnel fairly quickly, distracted by the task at hand. That made David Ornstein’s bombshell tweet bearing the bad news even more of a shock to the system. 

 

It’s Villa’s third torn ACL of the season, following Emi Buendia’s on the eve of the campaign and Tyrone Mings’ in the very first game. The club have managed to recover from those ailments pretty well, but that’s largely down to the fact they happened while the transfer window was still open, allowing Monchi and Unai Emery to react. Clement Lenglet was signed to cover Mings, Nicolo Zaniolo acquired to cover Buendia. 


 

But Kamara’s injury comes 12 days after the January window shut - a window in which Villa actually allowed his natural backup, Leander Dendoncker, to leave on loan to Napoli - leaving them in a real predicament. The squad already looked thin, so losing a body is problematic; losing one as talented and important as Kamara, though… it borders on disaster. 

 

Kamara averages 2.2 tackles per game, 1.1 interceptions per game and 1.8 fouls per game - a necessary component of his role. These are all team-highs for Villa in the Premier League. Curiously, he’s tied with John McGinn for the most dribbles per game (1.2) and seventh in the team for shot-creating actions (38), ahead of both Youri Tielemans and Matty Cash. That perhaps gives a fuller picture of just how important he is in multiple facets of the game. 

 

He’s one of the team’s tactical lynchpins, allowing them to move freely between a back four and a back three, as he’s so comfortable dropping in and out of the midfield. His skillset and physicality compliment fellow midfield star Douglas Luiz perfectly, while he also tends to bring the best out of McGinn, Ezri Konsa and others. 

 

Villa have already had a taste of life without Kamara this season and it wasn’t pleasant. He missed the Christmas run of Sheffield United, Manchester United and Burnley due to suspension, and in that time Villa’s 15-game winning run at home came to a halt, they collapsed at Old Trafford and just about squeezed past Burnley. Four points from nine; in the top four chase, that’s simply not good enough. 

 

So, what now? Unless Emery decides 20-year-old Tim Iroegbunam is ready for a huge step up in importance - and that would be a surprise, given he was halfway out the door early last month - there’s only really one in-house fix. McGinn will need to drop into the midfield duo on a permanent basis. He can match Kamara’s athleticism and tenacity, whereas the other option, Tielemans, can’t.

 

That robs Villa of McGinn’s aggressiveness higher up the pitch, which has been a hugely effective element in their big-game strategy. He can still drive with the ball from deep, and he’s extremely press-resistant on the turn, but it will limit his goalscoring influence and he’s not someone who can drop into the defensive line. 

 

Kamara’s ability to do that, in addition to everything else, makes him a bit of a unicorn skillset in the context of Villa’s squad; without him, this team may now require a total reshuffle. The dynamic of the side has to change, the switch of shape in possession may change or disappear, and there’s an opening higher up for someone else to seize. 

 

Perhaps this is a moment Moussa Diaby seizes, recovering his early season form after a steep drop-off this winter, or perhaps Tielemans or Zaniolo’s true value comes to the fore from here. Either way, the next Villa XI and performance will look very, very different in both defence and attack, with Emery up against the clock to come up with a solution that keeps this wonderful campaign - so far - on track.

Why Kamara injury blow ends Aston Villa's Champions League hopes