Aston Villa open contract talks with versatile midfielder who earned 'fantastic' tag from Unai Emery

The 25-year-old midfielder, who arrived on a free transfer from Marseille back in the summer of 2022, has featured 28 times across all competitions for Villa this season - and is viewed as a key part of Unai Emery's future plans at Villa Park.

Earlier this year, it emerged that Villa were keen to tie down the midfielder down to a long term contract after the January transfer window had ended.

Now reports in The Telegraph have stated that talks have got underway - and Villa are confident a new contract will be signed without an issues.

Kamara, who missed the start of the campaign after suffering an ACL injury last season, is entering the final two years of his contract after the summer, with his current deal ending in 2027.

It will come as a major boost for Villa and Emery, who has continually stressed how key the midfielder is to his Villa Park plans.

In an interview with Sky Sports earlier this month, Emery described the midfielder as a player 'any coach wants', and praised the versatility he brings to the side.

He said: "He has a huge mentality. We arrived here two years ago, and progressively we are seeing his improvement ever since then. Even with the injury, he is still moving forward. He came back playing even better than before he was injured.

 "He really is the sort of player any coach always wants in their squad because he is a very good professional, always doing his tasks. He has talent, but he works and he helps the other players on the field, he provides the cover and he has such versatility.

"He has played as a centre-back, a midfielder, a right-back, and he is always ready to do it, always focused on his new task. He is really fantastic and I appreciate this versatility a lot, and how he is showing us that his mind is open to everything we are trying to do."