Aston Villa: Gerrard 'might convince' £22.5m 'phenomenon' to sign

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard ‘will be hoping’ to persuade Marseille midfielder Boubacar to join his ongoing revolution this summer, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The 22-year-old is set to become a free agent over the coming months when his contract expires at the end of June, with several sides thought to be vying for his signature.

Marseille president Pablo Longoria has previously confirmed that Kamara will not sign a new deal with the French giants after reportedly demanding a huge increase on his current £46,000-per-week wages.

“To lose a player at the end of the contract, especially one of your best and one with one of the best (transfer) values in the squad, is always a failure,” said Longoria.

And according to Goal, reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are leading the race for Kamara’s signature ahead of the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.

However, it now seems as though Villa have entered the running for the former France Under-21 international, who is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, as Gerrard looks to address his engine room woes.

A recent report from Football Insider claims that the 41-year-old tactician was in attendance at the Stade Velodrome to personally scout Kamara as OM beat Nantes 3-2 in a Ligue 1 match recently.

O’Rourke believes signing the versatile “phenomenon” is ‘going to be a hard one’ for Villa due to the level of competition but reckons Gerrard ‘will be hoping’ he can convince him to commit his future to the Midlands outfit.

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He told GiveMeSport: “Boubacar Kamara, who is a free agent this summer and is highly sought after with a number of clubs