Manchester United can vindicate summer transfer decision vs Aston Villa

Boubacar Kamara was a name on almost everyone's lips 12 months ago.

The then Marseille man was seemingly being linked with every Premier League club ahead of becoming a free agent at the end of the 2021/22 season. Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur were named as clubs that were interested in the defensive midfielder, with that trio of teams reportedly battling to secure the player's signature a year before engaging in a three-way pursuit for the remaining two Champions League places.

United and Newcastle are now in pole position to finish in the top four ahead of Spurs, but the chasing pack has since swelled to double in size. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool are amongst that group after Jurgen Klopp has been able to welcome players back from injury, as are the impressive Brighton and Hove Albion under Roberto De Zerbi, but so too are Unai Emery's Aston Villa, coming out of the blue just at the right time, as they did last May in striking a deal to sign Kamara.

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While the Manchester Evening News previously reported that United never came close to signing Kamara, with the links merely circumstantial due to the player's contract situation and United's need for a midfielder with Paul Pogba leaving rather than anything serious, that the club did not end up settling for a bargain rather than recruiting the ready-made midfielder they did end up signing suggests a change of tact in the transfer market since manager Erik ten Hag's arrival.

A day shy of three months after Kamara went off the market, Casemiro was walking around Old Trafford as a United player after agreeing to a £70 million move from Real Madrid. Defensive midfield had