In a recent report, The Daily Mail claimed that Newcastle United are showing interest in Olympique Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara this summer. It is believed that the Magpies are hoping to get a deal done to bring the French midfield ace to St. James’ Park in this off-season (via The Daily Mail).
Kamara’s Recent Rise At Marseille
Kamara caught the eye with his performances at Marseille last season when he produced a number of impressive displays for them at the centre of the park. The talented youngster made 43 appearances for the French club in the previous campaign on all fronts.
The 21-year-old managed to influence the game at both ends of the field as he averaged 2.4 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 1.3 clearances, 0.6 shots, 0.6 key passes and 0.9 dribbles per 90 minutes in the Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League. He has even been tidy when interchanging possession with his teammates after completing 86.2% of his attempted passes in both those competitions (stats via whoscored).
Kamara showed a lot of signs of promise at the Stade Vélodrome last season. However, the jury is still out on whether he can maintain his good form in the Premier League as he might struggle to adapt to the physical nature and high intensity of English football.
What Will The French Prospect Add To Steve Bruce’s Team?
Kamara is a tough-tackling defensive midfielder who can make some solid tackles to hamper the opposition’s flow in the game. He has got good defensive awareness that helps him secure the ball back for his team.
The French sensation can cover a lot of ground to clear the danger when needed and is proficient at pulling off a few energetic runs from midfield. However, he is still quite inexperienced and would need time to develop into a top talent.
Therefore, Newcastle should only consider moving in for Kamara if they are willing to give him time to settle into Bruce’s style of play at St. James’ Park. We can expect him to add some bite and steel along with a lot of energy to the Magpies midfield department. Kamara is primarily a holding midfielder but is versatile enough to fill in as a centre-half if required.
At 21, the Marseille-born talent has a very bright future ahead of him, so an experienced man-manager like Bruce could help him grow into a world-class footballer at Tyneside in the years to come. Newcastle would be wise to engineer a move to acquire the services of the French whizkid as he will inject some much-needed quality to their first team. Plus, Kamara will increase competition for places within Bruce’s match-day squad that makes him a worthy target for the Magpies to pursue this summer.
