Marseille defender Boubacar Kamara has been a ‘phenomenon’ since the age of 15, former team-mate Rolando tells RMC Sport of the Arsenal and West Ham United-linked centre-back.
Unfortunately for L’OM, there is a very real chance that this 20-year-old academy graduate has already played his final game for the club.
Marseille are under pressure to raise around £100 million in order to avoid Financial Fair Play sanctions, according to Le10 Sport. And a dazzling defensive talent with suitors all over Europe is perhaps the club’s most sellable asset.
The Express has mentioned West Ham as a potential destination for the £28 million-rated Kamara. Arsenal are interested too, with the Marseille-born youngster just one of many talented centre-halves linked with a move to the Emirates (FootMercato).
And Rolando, a Portugal international who watched Kamara rise through the ranks at the Stade Velodrome, is not surprised to see the Frenchman take Ligue 1 by storm.
“This kid is a phenomenon. When he started training with us, he was 15 years old. And from day one, I said, ‘this little one is going to be a great player’,” Rolando says.
“He’s the kind of central defender that I like. He is full of quality and, above all, he works hard, he listens. It is out of the ordinary.
“I already said to him: ‘In a few years, you will invite me to go see your matches in the French national team and I can say that I played with you when you were 15 years old’.
“I am sure of it. He is very good, in addition to being a good person.”
Kamara, who can play in central midfield as well as at the back, made a major impact as Marseille finished second behind PSG in Ligue 1, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in seven years under Andre Villas-Boas.
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