Boubacar Kamara of Aston Villa
Boubacar Kamara of Aston Villa (Image: Getty Images)
Aston Villa's draw with Juventus on Wednesday mightn't have offered much inspiration as they seek to bring to an end their ongoing winless run which spans three separate competitions. On the face of it, a draw, a sharing of the points and a clean sheet against Juventus - a club instantly recognisable on the continental stage - is perfectly respectable, even if they were decimated by injuries to key personnel.
Villa were toothless, though, not carrying enough venom in attack and actually grateful for Emi Martinez's heroics at the other end. That Morgan Rogers' late 'winner' was controversially chalked off rather reflected the anti-climatic feeling of the occasion. There was, however, one particular taking from the evening to hearten supporters as they left B6 a little disappointed.
The individual performance of Boubacar Kamara in the middle of the park was like watching Boubacar Kamara at the height of his powers prior to his ill-timed ACL injury earlier this year. Kamara, a rare masterstroke during the otherwise patchy period during which Steven Gerrard and Johan Lange worked together to identify and recruit new players, was making only his third start since returning.
READ: How Martinez mocked Juve keeper as Luiz watches Villa match Chelsea record
READ: 'Cleary no foul', Villa progress, Kamara praise - Every word Emery said after Juve draw
On another night he might've come up against his old partner in crime Douglas Luiz, who departed but was one of eight senior players missing for Juve. The partnership born in the middle of the pitch was the rock that Unai Emery built his transformative Villa on, both highly talented and complementing of each other. When it came to availability, both were dependable.
While Luiz was a little flashier, a player who'd chip in with his fair share of goals, Kamara was comparably reserved when going about his business, tigerish in the tackle and calm with the ball at his feet. The loss of Kamara to injury didn't derail Villa's Champions League push last year, but Villa were visibly more vulnerable game to game without their shield.
Now Kamara is back, having been eased into competitive football again following such an extensive absence and is surely - on this evidence alone - not far away from being able to look forward to seeing his name on a Premier League starting XI team-sheet in the near future - perhaps as soon as this weekend at Stamford Bridge.
Emery and Villa knew that they'd need reinforcing in midfield this summer. Ross Barkley was a clever, cheap and low risk signing to complement the existing options of John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Youri Tielemans, but Villa clearly needed more oomph while they waited for Kamara to return. Step forward Amadou Onana, who instantly replaced the goals lost by the sale of Luiz.
Rather typically of Villa's injury fortune, or misfortune, in the last 12 months, Emery hasn't yet been able to pair Kamara and Onana for more than nine minutes - and even during that period, at Tottenham last month, the game was lost. More recently, the Frenchman replaced the Belgian at Liverpool, on an evening when more injury issues presented themselves to Emery.
Onana then picked up a setback while away with Belgium and neither player was available for the draw with Crystal Palace over the weekend; it's hoped that Onana's issue isn't too serious and that he'll be back in contention to feature at some stage next month. In the meantime, Kamara's rising performance levels - never more so than on Wednesday - offer a tantalising prospect of the pair combining in front of the defence in the weeks and months to come.
"He’s very important," Emery stressed of Kamara after the game. "He has come back. He goes as a six number. He’s giving us a lot of balance, he progressed a lot last year before his injury, playing and with confidence in the build-up. He is helping us in this direction. He has a big potential to continue exploiting."
What that means for certain teammates - Tielemans and McGinn, for example, and their respective roles in this starting XI - is interesting. Operating with Tielemans in a more advanced role could free Onana's compatriot up to exploit more of his creative talents. There'd be knock-on effects, too, for Ramsey on his return and Rogers, whose own levels have dipped a little more recently. Competition is no bad thing, but Emery could yet uncover a formidable combination we haven't yet been privy to.
What is Villa's best XI when everyone is fit? Tell us HERE