Manchester United ‘look to bolster midfield with Marseille star’

Manchester United are the latest club to be linked to Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara, according to reports.

David Ornstein of The Athletic reports that United are monitoring the status of Kamara, whose contract with the French side expires at the end of the season.

Ornstein claims the 22-year-old has opted to leave the Ligue 1 club when his current deal comes to a close in June next year, and the Red Devils are one of several teams interested in the Frenchman.

Kamara, a Europa League runner-up with Marseille in 2018, has represented France at youth level from the Under-17s through to the Under-21 team, and will now be looking to get his name in contention for a senior call up.

Who is Boubacar Kamara?

Born in Marseille on 23 November 1999, Boubacar is eligible to play for either France or Senegal’s senior team through the latter being the birth-place of his father.

The defensive-midfielder has spent his whole career with the French side, having joined them at the age of five and came through their youth ranks, making his senior debut at the age of 17.

He featured frequently for their reserve team in France’s fourth-tier between 2016 and 2018, while also playing for the first team.

Kamara became a regular for Les Phoceens during the 2018-19 campaign, making 36 appearances in all competitions.

Since then, things have been on the up for the 22-year-old, with his performances last season earning him the Player of The Season Award.

To date, the midfielder has featured 141 times for the club, scoring four goals and assisting his teammates on five occasions.

Current form

According to whoscored.com, Kamara’s is performing at an overall average of 6.64. His pass percentage is 90.8% - something that United fans will be happy to see.

Though predominantly a defensive-midfielder, he can also play at centre-back and slot in on either side of the defence too.

Rolando, a former teammate of the 22-year-old, has described him as “ a phenomenon.”

However, the only downside to his performances this season, Kamara wasn’t able to help prevent his team finishing third in their Europa League group, thus dropping to the Conference League knockout stages.

How likely is the deal to go ahead?

This move could be an interesting one for the Red Devils if a bid were to be submitted, especially considering the fact the midfielder wants to leave Marseille.

Nevertheless, according to Ornstein, United face competition from Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Newcastle United for the 22-year-old’s signature.

The Frenchman is thought to be currently earning £46,000 per week as reported by salary sport - a number that is easily affordable for the previously mentioned clubs.

Whether the Red Devils are successful in their pursuit of Kamara will likely come down to how much playing-time Kamara would get under Ralf Rangnick.

What are the fans saying?

@VinceVega7 tweeted “Boubacar Kamara is definitely the type of signing we should be aiming for, whether it’s now for a cut price or in the summer for free. We need more than one midfield signing, so it would come handy if one of them wouldn’t cost anything.”

@RonaldoProp had said “Boubacar Kamara coming to United on a free transfer should be a no brainer.”