Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Aston Villa, Premier League, Champions League
Ryan Smart
Aston Villa are ready to offer a 'historic' record-breaking contract to star midfielder Boubacar Kamara, according to a new report.
The Frenchman, who can also play at centre-back, has been a key player throughout the reign of Unai Emery.
He signed for Villa as a free agent from Marseille in the summer of 2022, and has made 61 Premier League appearances in his near three-season spell with the one-time European Cup winners.
Without Kamara in the side last season through unavailability or injury, Villa failed to win 11 out of 18 Premier League games, including five defeats (via Statmuse).
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Most of that unavailability was down to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury suffered in February 2024, with Kamara returning to the Villa fold in October. He has made 29 appearances in all competitions since then.
And his influence on the team looks set to be rewarded with a historic new contract, it has been claimed.
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Foot Mercato report that Villa are set to offer Kamara a contract that has 'never been seen in the club's history' amid interest from fellow elite European clubs.
Arsenal and Bayern Munich have both been linked with signing the 25-year-old midfielder, as well as Villa's upcoming Champions League quarter-final opponents Paris Saint-Germain. His current deal expires in 2027.
The Midlands club's highest earner at present, according to Spotrac, is a three-way tie between Kamara, Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Martinez, who all earn £150,000 per week.
Emery's side are also paying 75 per cent of loanee Marcus Rashford's Manchester United salary, a figure reportedly standing at around £245,000 per week. Villa have an option to make Rashford's loan permanent this summer though it is unclear as to what his new wage would be in that scenario.
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Speaking about Kamara in a January 2025 interview with Sky Sports, Emery said: "He has big potential. Very big potential. He is playing well and is so focused on improving his game ... now it is my responsibility to develop him even more.
"He has a huge mentality. We arrived here two years ago, and progressively we are seeing his improvement ever since then. Even with the injury, he is still moving forward. He came back playing even better than before he was injured."