Aston Villa have not been known as big spenders in the Premier League. One of their most expensive players was a man signed this summer. Unai Emery’s side brought Amadou Onana to the club, paying his former team Everton £50m for his services. He has gone on to become a key player for the Spaniard.
However, he is not the most expensive incoming of all time at Villa Park. Instead, it was French winger Moussa Diaby who is the record addition for the Midlands outfit. They paid a reported £51.9m to Bayer Leverkusen, although sold him a year later to Saudi Arabia for a similar fee.
Although the Villans have made several expensive signings over the past few summers, namely Onana and Diaby, they have been known to complete some smart deals, acquiring the odd bargain or two in recent times.
Aston Villa’s best free transfers
The Midlands side have a good track record when it comes to free transfers, and have made some particularly impressive deals in the past few years.
The most recent example of this has been Youri Tielemans. The Belgian midfielder joined upon the expiration of his Leicester City contract. He has gone on to become a crucial player in the middle of the park alongside countryman Onana, making 61 appearances so far. He has started every game in the Premier League and Champions League this term.
Dating back slightly further, to the early Noughties, the Villans signed German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger on a free transfer. He had a superb career for the Villans, scoring 12 goals and grabbing 14 assists in 114 games.
They have also made some more experienced free signings. Ashley Young returned for a second spell to the club in 2021, staying two seasons and playing 57 games. The Villans also signed John Terry, who played for one season in the Championship in 2017/18, a campaign in which they lost in the Playoff Final.
However, as good as these additions were, there was another free signing in the last few seasons who may have been the best of the bunch. That player is Boubacar Kamara.
Kamara’s value in 2024
Although a bad injury has hampered his time at Villa, the French midfielder has been an important player under Emery. The 24-year-old has certainly made far fewer appearances at the club than he would have liked, but he has been a key cog in the Villa machine when fit.
In total, the five-cap France international has played 63 times for the Midlands side, chipping in with a goal and two assists in that time. He has played seven times this term, recovering from a particularly bad anterior cruciate ligament injury. Villa are being cautious, as expected, and the former Marseille man has played just 33 Premier League minutes so far.
Indeed, his injury record at Villa Park has, sadly, been quite poor so far. Kamara missed 35 games and 262 days, with his ACL injury. In total, he has had four injuries, missing 52 games for club and country, which adds up to 340 days.
That said, when fit and firing, the 6 foot sensation is a real midfield powerhouse. In many ways, the “composed” Villa ace, as football scout Jacek Kulig described him, is similar to Chelsea and Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo, at least statistically, as per FBref.
The pair are metronomic on the ball, with Kamara averaging an 87.6% pass accuracy and Caicedo an 89.1% pass accuracy, according to FBref. However, where they are most alike is defensively, with the Villa number 44 averaging 3.69 tackles and interceptions per 90, and the Chelsea midfield general averaging 4.77 per 90.
Stat (per 90)
Kamara
Caicedo
Tackles and interceptions
3.69
4.77
Clearances
0.92
1.45
Blocks
1.62
1.93
Aerial duels won
1.27
0.95
Ball recoveries
5.65
6.25
Given he cost them nothing after signing on a free transfer, the midfielder has been a revelation. Not only is he similar to someone worth £115m, the fee Chelsea paid for Caicedo, but he is worth £31.5m according to Transfermarkt.
It has certainly been a fantastic addition for Villa, and if he can stay fit, they could be looking at a player worth £100m or more, who can add superb quality to their midfield ranks both in and out of possession.
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