Aston Villa’s strong start to the season has been marred by their woes defensively, with one ‘crucial’ element capable of fixing them.
Aston Villa’s struggles defensively from last campaign have continued this term, with Unai Emery’s men yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League.
The Villans have conceded nine goals from their six matches in the league, including two away at Ipswich Town, where centre-back Diego Carlos was heavily criticised for his performance at Portman Road.
Emery’s defence will always be prone to the counter punch, especially away from home, but there is one missing piece to the puzzle that can minimize the risk of leaking goals.
Boubacar Kamara’s return can transform Aston Villa’s defence
Boubacar Kamara has been sidelined with an ACL injury since the defeat to Manchester United in February but Kamara has recently returned to training and Emery thinks the Frenchman will be available for first-team minutes after the next international break.
Last season, the 24-year-old played an invaluable role in front of the Villa defence, sweeping up possession and sniffing out danger between the lines.
Therefore, during his eight-month absence, Aston Villa have missed Kamara’s defensive expertise and what he brings to the starting XI when fully fit.
Currently, Emery plays his £50 million signing Amadou Onana in a similar role but the Belgian is still learning how to operate as a natural number six, with the 23-year-old much more impactful as a box-to-box midfielder.
Aston Villa expert John Townley believes the return of Kamara is the ‘crucial’ element to improved defensive performances as the Frenchman creates added balance in central areas.
“Maybe this doesn’t answer your question exactly, but I think Kamara coming back is probably the crucial element here,” Townley told the Claret & Blue podcast.
“I think he allows us to just have more balance in terms of both phases. At the moment, we’ve obviously got Onana, who is a work in progress.
“Certainly in my opinion, in Emery’s opinion as well, he’s going through a process is what Emery said. And we know that he can become a very, very good modern six essentially. But right now we are seeing, I think a bit of vulnerability.
Townley thinks that Kamara’s absence from the base of midfield has cost them on occasions this season, including in the 2-2 draw against Ipswich, as Villa were twice caught in transition.
“Not this isn’t a criticism of him specifically, but I just think him in this system that we’re playing, I think we need something a bit more, a bit more streetwise maybe,” he added.
“I think a couple of goals that we conceded yesterday, and even during the season, you can see that maybe if that’s a Kamara, or if that’s Onana maybe in two years, when he knows exactly what Emery wants of him, maybe those goals don’t happen and we are winning matches.”
Kamara is one of Aston Villa’s missing pieces to the puzzle
Whilst Villa have struggled massively at the back, the return of Kamara can kill two birds with one stone for Emery.
The former Marseille midfielder offers great positional awareness and knows when to commit to a tackle or stand his ground.
Currently, Emery is relying on Youri Tielemans to play a similar role, and while he’s filled the void relatively well, Villa would see the best of the Belgian with the monstrous performances of Kamara alongside him.
Ultimately, Kamara starting in midfield gives added protection to the back four and is someone excellent at recycling possession and doing the dirty work; two components that Villa have missed.
