It has been just over a year since Douglas Luiz left Aston Villa to join Juventus. The move, unfortunately, did not work out for the Brazilian midfielder. He only played 27 times for the Old Lady, featuring for just 877 minutes across his time in Turin.
12 months on, and he is back in the Premier League, once again playing in the Midlands. Only, he is at Villa’s East Midlands rivals, Nottingham Forest, on a loan deal. Luiz is yet to make his debut for the club, but that could change under their new manager, Ange Postecoglou.
Douglas Luiz
The Villans never really signed a replacement for the Brazilian. In fact, his replacement was in-house, with Boubacar Kamara stepping up.
Kamara’s 2024/25 season
French midfielder Kamara did play plenty of times with Luiz. The former Olympique Marseille player, who moved to Villa Park on a free transfer, lined up for the Villans 50 times alongside the Brazilian, according to Transfermarkt.
Aston Villa's Boubacar Kamara in action with Club Brugge's Ardon Jashari
Yet, last season, in light of Luiz’s departure to Turin, saw the Frenchman feature as a key man for Unai Emery in the middle of the park. He did struggle with injury, but when fit, tended to play 90 minutes for his side.
In total, the 25-year-old, who signed a new deal at Villa Park over the summer, played 42 games for Emery’s side. That included his first, and to date, only Premier League goal, coming against Tottenham Hotspur right at the end of the campaign.
It was certainly an impressive campaign for Kamara, who was described as “a very important player” by his manager, Emery, last December.
Certainly, he did not make Luiz’s absence very felt, due to his stellar efforts.
Aston Villa's Boubacar Kamara
What might sting Villa fans, however, is that they had a player as good as Kamara, who was viewed as an even better option than Luiz.
Aston Villa have offloaded the next Kamara
There is no doubt that, in their current squad, Villa have some good options in midfield. Youri Tielemans was another key player last season, and Amadou Onana provides a real presence in the centre of the park. Of course, they have Kamara, too.
Yet, how good would it have been if the Villans had also kept Enzo Barrenechea in and around the group? Although the young Argentine midfielder joined the club last summer, he has recently been sent out on his second loan spell, to Benfica. There is an obligation to buy him at the end of the move for a fee of around £13m.
Enzo Barrenechea-1
Last term, the 24-year-old spent the season at Spanish giants Valencia. He played 32 times for the La Liga outfit, more often than not sitting in front of the defence as a number six.
Barrenechea chipped in with two assists and a goal, too.
As the video above shows, he is a dream profile. The now-Benfica player can break up play in the midfield, before pinging defence-splitting passes over or through the opposition lines.
In fact, football analyst Ben Mattinson rates him so highly that he said he has a “higher ceiling” than Luiz in that number six role.
Enzo Barrenechea
The numbers from last season and the start of 2025/26 on FBref highlight the fact that he is similar statistically to Kamara. For example, Barrenechea averaged 5.29 progressive passes and 3.31 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes last season.
In comparison, Kamara played an average of 4.88 progressive passes and made 3.6 tackles and interceptions each game.
Barrenechea va Kamara
Stat (pr 90)
Key passes
Progressive passes
Progressive carries
Tackles and interceptions
Ball recoveries
Stats from FBref
All things considered, it is strange that Villa were willing to let Barrenechea go so easily.
His first loan to Valencia showed that he has the talent to compete at the highest level, and given Luiz’s departure, he could have been the dream option in Emery’s squad.
Looking back on this move, Villa fans might always rue the fact they let the second coming of Kamara slip through the net so easily.