West Ham have been linked with a move for Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara.
His contract is expiring at the end of the season, therefore he could be available in January for just £5 million.
If the Hammers wait for the summer, when he becomes a free agent, there could easily be a queue of top European clubs wanting to sign him. West Ham should make a move sooner rather than later.
West Ham must bid now or risk missing out on signing highly-rated Marseille midfielder, Boubacar Kamara.
The 22-year-old has already captained Marseille on multiple occasions and he is predominantly a defensive midfielder, but can also cover at centre-back. This makes him a great option. He would provide cover for Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice (potentially even being the latter’s replacement), meanwhile Alex Kral is clearly not trusted yet, as shown in the 3-2 defeat to Leeds despite the midfield being overrun in Soucek’s absence. Manuel Lanzini started but is better further forward unless the Irons are playing a team they can dominate the ball against.
The versatility Kamara has to play at central defence is also vital. Craig Dawson is playing on despite injury, Angelo Ogbonna is out injured, Issa Diop has lacked consistency and Kurt Zouma is nearing a return to bolster the defence.
But it is clear West Ham want a centre-back in January with Kortney Hause and Nathan Ake linked with moves to the club.
In an interview within the last week to Amazon, the Frenchman refused to rule out a potential transfer, “Yes it is true that the rumours are sending me left and right everyday. It is up to me to stay focused on the pitch, not to think about the rumours to be able to give my all to the team to help.”
He continued, mostly interestingly saying, “During the transfer window, everything is possible.”
As reported before on our site, through manager, David Moyes, and new Head of Recruitment, Rob Newman, West Ham are closely scouting Ligue 1 with multiple centre-backs and strikers believed to be of interest.
Clubs across Europe’s top five leagues have an interest in Kamara and signing him would be a major signal of intent. But with Champions League teams in the mix, West Ham have to act now before they miss out on a wonderful player.
For West Ham to keep their best players like Jarrod Bowen, being proactive in the transfer market is key. The club is in a great position in the Premier League, as well as the Europa League, to help continue that success on multiple fronts squad depth is needed.
Read a scouting report on Kamara on the next page to find out why he would be such a fantastic signing.
Scouting West Ham target Boubacar Kamara
Statistically, Kamara has outstanding numbers, he completes 89.6% of passes, wins 1.5 aerial duels per game and has been in the top 10 players in Ligue 1 for tackles and successful pressures across the last three seasons. His stats are comparable to the likes of Sergio Busquets of Barcelona, Oriol Romeu of Southampton and Idrissa Gueye of PSG. (Data via fbref.com)
His strengths are his positional awareness, he is known for being an excellent decision maker via constantly scanning the pitch, As a result, he makes the correct choices on whether to press an opponent or cut the passing lane to him – this is something Rice does excellently too.
As the stats show, he is also a great tackler making 2.74 per 90 minutes as well as being a strong passer over short and medium distances, his numbers for long passes are okay but could be better.
The area of his game he needs to improve is his dribbling. Unlike Rice, who said recently that he is hoping to guide West Ham into the Champions League, Kamara is not a great ball carrier in terms of distance. You won’t see him run with the ball into the attacking third often something Rice does so well.
Also, he isn’t as much of an attacking threat as Soucek, he only averages one goal a season. The former French Under-21 man is very much a sitting midfielder who breaks up play well but can get better by adding some more attacking thrust to his game. He could do with a bit more athleticism too as he isn’t the quickest.
However, his injury record is fantastic missing just six games due to injury since 2018 and clearly has a great attitude as he sometimes Marseille captain despite being a young player.
He is comparable to the fellow highly-rated midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni of Monaco, who Manchester United are interested in.
West Ham had big success signing a player from Marseille last time, the unforgettable Dimitri Payet and Moyes would be wise to bring in Kamara. There are some limitations to his game but there is no doubting his quality and at 22, he has his best years ahead of him. With a strong French speaking contingent at West Ham, there is no doubt he’d feel at home in no time.