Gerrard: Kamara and Carlos REJECTED Champions League clubs for Villa

Steven Gerrard reveals Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos REJECTED Champions League clubs to join Aston Villa and insists the new summer signings will bring ‘leadership’ and ‘style’ to the squad after impressing in pre-season tour of Australia

  • Aston Villa have bolstered their squad with Boubacar Kamara and Diego Costa 
  • The pair rejected Champions League clubs to join, claims boss Steven Gerrard 
  • Kamara and Costa having impressed during their pre-season tour of Australia
  • Gerrard feels Costa will provide extra leadership within the Aston Villa defence
  • He also insists that Kamara will bring more style and passing in the engine room 

Steven Gerrard reveals summer signings Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos turned down Champions League clubs to join Aston Villa.

Villa caught the eye by snapping up two of the best available players in their positions early in the window, with midfielder Kamara arriving after his Marseille contract ended, and centre-back Carlos leaving Sevilla for a deal that could be worth £30million.

Gerrard’s men are currently on a pre-season tour of Australia, where the newcomers have impressed.

Ex-Marseille star Boubacar Kamara signed  for Aston Villa on a free transfer earlier this month 

Diego Carlos arrived at Villa Park from Sevilla for a fee worth in the region of £26m in June

‘To attract players who had options to play in the Champions League is a big coup for the club,’ said Gerrard, whose side face Manchester United in Perth on Saturday.

‘There was no point in me trying to recruit players that were going to make us stand still and I didn’t want to recruit players just to add to the numbers. I wanted to make players that were good enough for the XI, to make a difference.

‘Diego’s going to be a really big man and a leader for us at the back. You can see that straight away and Kamara’s going to give us style, he’s going to give us a passing range that I didn’t feel we had.’

Head coach Steven Gerrard claims that the pair rejected Champions League clubs to join Villa

Gerrard took over last November when Dean Smith was sacked and though he steered Villa comfortably away from the relegation zone, he and billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have far more ambitious targets.

Though Villa have completed the transfers they had prioritised, Gerrard is still keen on signing another midfielder depending on the futures of Douglas Luiz and Carney Chukwuemeka, who both have just 12 months remaining on their contracts.

Gerrard added: ‘We want to be one of those teams that tries to upset the natural dynamics of the Premier League. 

‘If that means we snatch a European place, fantastic, because we’ve got to reach for the stars. But the minimum for me is we’ve got to be operating in the top-half of the league.’




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