AC Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea are reportedly involved in a three-way battle to sign defender Boubacar Kamara, who has been dubbed as the ‘new Thiago Silva’.
According to a report from Italian outlet Calciomercato, AC Milan have entered the race to sign Marseille’s defensive mainstay Boubacar Kamara. The teenage centre-back is also a target for Premier League heavyweights Arsenal and Chelsea.
19-year-old Kamara has been with Marseille since 2005 and having risen through the ranks rapidly, penned his first professional contract with the Ligue 1 side in 2017, rejecting the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund among other big clubs as per Goal.com.
Kamara made his first-team debut for the club back in October 2017 and has continued to grow from strength to strength thereon. The centre-back has firmly established himself as a mainstay at the back for the French outfit this season and has made 23 appearances across all competitions, scoring one goal in the process.
Dubbed as the ‘new Thiago Silva’, the teenage defender’s meteoric rise to prominence in French football hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Arsenal and Chelsea continuing to keep an eye out on Kamara’s development with Marseille, after having failed to sign him a couple of years ago.
Arsenal are in dire need of strengthening their defence in the summer transfer window, given their struggles in the ongoing campaign under new manager Unai Emery. Shkodran Mustafi has struggled for consistency, along with new signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos, while age seems to be catching up with captain Laurent Koscielny.
In Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos they have a couple of exciting young prospects, but neither have played enough this term owing to injury problems. With the backline in need of freshening up, Arsenal are eyeing a move for Kamara, who has showcased maturity beyond his years in his fledgling career at Marseille.
Chelsea too are on the lookout for defensive reinforcements ahead of the next season. Seasoned campaigner Gary Cahill is on his way out of the club once his deal expires, while David Luiz is also in the final few months of his deal.
With the composure and the ball-playing ability that Kamara brings to the table, coupled with the fact that he can slot in as a left-back as well, it is no wonder that Chelsea are interested in the teenage prodigy from the Ligue 1 outfit.
However, now the London clubs will have to battle Italian heavyweights AC Milan as well, if they are to land their man in the summer. Gennaro Gattuso’s side are eyeing additions to their backline with Cristian Zapata’s contract set to run out at the end of the season and have identified the 19-year-old Kamara as a potential target.
Kamara’s contract with Marseille expires in the summer of 2020 and while the report claims that there have been attempts made to negotiate a new deal, little success has been achieved. This does put the Ligue 1 side in a precarious position, exposing their asset to offers from his suitors in the summer window. It remains to be seen who among Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea come out on top in the transfer battle.