In a recent report, The Daily Mirror revealed that Olympique Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara is on Newcastle United‘s radar this summer. It is understood that the Magpies would have to pay around £15m to convince Marseille to sell their French midfield ace during this summer transfer window (via The Daily Mirror).
Kamara’s Impressive Season At The Stade Vélodrome
Kamara had a solid campaign with the French outfit after establishing himself as a consistent feature in their midfield. The 21-year-old was involved in 43 matches for Marseille last season, picking up two assists and eight yellow cards in the process across various competitions.
The Marseille-born talent managed to impress with his all-around contributions in midfield as he averaged 2.4 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 1.3 clearances, 0.6 shots, 0.6 key passes and 0.9 dribbles per game in the Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League. He was even excellent with his ball distribution based on his pass completion rate of 86.2% in both those competitions (stats via whoscored).
Kamara has got less than a year remaining in his Marseille contract, so Newcastle would have a good chance of recruiting him if they can arrange enough funds to convince the French club to part ways with their prized asset in this off-season.
Should The Magpies Get Kamara On Board This Summer?
Kamara is a moderately-paced midfielder who can make a few energetic dashes in the opposition half. He is always willing to get stuck in with some solid tackles to disrupt the opponent’s flow in the game at the centre of the park. The nine-time France Under-21 international has got the hunger to secure possession back for his team and also doesn’t take too many risks with his clearances.
Kamara is highly versatile as he is primarily a defensive midfielder but can also operate as a box to box midfielder or play as a centre-back if required. Hence, he will be an excellent addition to the Magpies squad as he will give Steve Bruce more flexibility and could help him to rotate his teams more often in the upcoming campaign.
At 21, Kamara is still quite raw and would need time to hone his skills before he can taste success at the highest level. However, there are some question marks over whether the French sensation can cope with the physicality and high intensity of English football if Newcastle manage to land him this summer.
Even then, there is no denying that Kamara will improve the overall quality of the Magpies squad and could help Bruce cope with injuries, suspensions and fixture congestion better in the coming seasons. We can also expect him to offer some competition for Jonjo Shelvey and Sean Longstaff in the race to secure a regular starting place at St. James’ Park. With all things considered, the Tyneside outfit should think about getting Kamara on board before the start of the new season.
