Liverpool have identified several potential replacements for Fabinho and Jordan Henderson over the last week, and now there has been a new update on the club's pursuit to sign another midfielder; Boubacar Kamara.
What is Boubacar Kamara worth?
According to The Athletic, Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara remains on the list of targets for Liverpool.
As per the report, the Reds are in desperate need of reinforcements following the departure of Jordan Henderson and the imminent exit of Fabinho, with Kamara named as one of many potential replacements to bolster the number six role at Anfield next season.
The player is valued at £38m, via Football Transfers.
How good is Boubacar Kamara?
A midfield rebuild has been long overdue for Liverpool and after the rollercoaster campaign last season, it became a necessity to improve and bolster the options available in the centre of the pitch.
However, nothing could have prepared Jurgen Klopp for having his hand forced to complete an entire transformation in midfield with the Saudi Pro League capturing his club captain Henderson and defensive mainstay Fabinho, with the latter's move still in the works at present.
Liverpool have made Southampton youngster Romeo Lavia their primary target, but have already had a £40m bid rejected and are currently preparing a second £45m bid – which is still £5m short of the recently relegated club's valuation of their rising star.
As a result, Klopp and his sporting director could instead turn their attentions to the cheaper Kamara, who like Lavia has been a stand-out performer in his first season in the top flight and possesses the perfect profile to add crucial depth in the deep-lying midfield role.
The £150k-per-week Frenchman made the move to Villa Park last summer joining on a free transfer from Marseille upon the expiration of his contract with the Ligue 1 club, so there has been no real price point reported for him to part ways with the club following the first full year of his five-year-deal with the Claret and Blue.
Despite being signed by Steven Gerrard, Kamara has had no trouble fitting into Unai Emery's tenacious style of play and was a regular feature forming a forceful partnership with Douglas Luiz before sustaining an ankle injury in the latter stages of their campaign.
Over 24 league appearances, the 23-year-old – hailed "high-quality" and a "controller" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – tallied up an 85% pass completion rate and successfully completed 57% of his dribbles, as well as averaging 2.4 tackles, and winning 5.3 duels won per game, as per SofaScore.
When comparing the Villa talent's output to Lavia's last season, the midfield positional peers shared similarities per 90 minutes played including blocks (1.92 v 1.90), pass completion (84.8% v 86.2%) and tackles completed (2.94 v 2.43), whilst Kamara massively outperformed the Belgian youngster in aerial duels won (1.11 v 0.23) and clearances (1.22 v 0.28).
With that being said, Kamara would undoubtedly be a worthy alternative to Lavia should Liverpool find themselves unable to meet Southampton's expectations, however, it would surely take some convincing for Aston Villa to part ways with their midfield dynamo too.