Aston Villa Eyeing A Move For This Gifted Midfielder: What Will He Add To Emery’s Side? | OneFootball

In a recent report, Record revealed that Aston Villa are eyeing a move for Vitoria Guimaraes midfielder Ibrahima Bamba. It has been claimed that the Villans could face competition from Arsenal in the race to land the Italian sensation.

Bamba’s Solid Season At The Estádio D. Afonso Henriques

The 20-year-old is having an impressive campaign in Portuguese football as he has managed to put in a run of impressive displays at the heart of Guimaraes’ midfield. Bamba has participated in 26 matches for the Portuguese club this season, picking up ten yellow cards in the process across all fronts.

The Vercelli-born talent has anchored the midfield really well by averaging 2.4 tackles, 1.0 interceptions and 4.1 clearances per 90 minutes in Liga Portugal. He has even been careful when distributing possession from midfield after making 84.1% of his attempted passes in the Portuguese top-flight (stats via whoscored).

His current deal at the Portuguese club is set to run out in the summer of 2026. Therefore, the Villans will have to launch a big offer if they are serious about recruiting Bamba in the summer.

Villa Park

What Will Bamba Add To Arsenal Boss Unai Emery’s Side?

Bamba is a good tackler of the ball and can time his challenges well to secure possession back for his side at the centre of the park. He doesn’t hesitate to clear the danger when the opposition are on the front foot and is a tidy passer of the ball as well. Bamba is primarily a defensive midfielder but can also function as a box-to-box midfielder or as a central defender if his manager tells him to do so. However, the Italian prospect has to find a way to add more goals and assists to his game if he wants to taste success at the highest level.

At 20, the future is quite promising for Bamba as long as he continues to improve his all-around game each year. We can expect the Italian whizkid to add more bite and steel to Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery‘s midfield department as long as he can make a smooth transition to life in the Premier League.

Bamba is already good enough to challenge for a regular starting spot at the West Midlands club and has the potential to become a real star at Villa Park in the coming seasons. Hence, Emery should focus on trying everything in his power to bring the Liga Portugal youngster to England at the end of this campaign.