Aston Villa win race to sign Boubacar Kamara | OneFootball

Aston Villa have won the race to sign in-demand Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara, 90min understands.

A host of clubs were interested in the French Under-21 international and had made offers for the player who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Atletico Madrid had been leading the chase but 90min has learned that Steven Gerrard has persuaded the defensive midfielder to move to Villa Park.

Kamara is set to become Gerrard's second signing of the summer having already agreed a deal with Barcelona to make Philippe Coutinho's move permanent.

Villa boss Gerrard was asked by 90min about the prospective deal for Kamara after their loss at Manchester City and he confirmed they were interested.

"There is an interest," he confirmed after being asked if a deal was done.

"It is not the time to discuss future acquisitions or targets. I think you will see very soon there has been work in the background in terms of where we want to take this team."

On Saturday, the midfielder had revealed that he was not renewing his contract at Marseille:

“I’ve made my decision, which is to not renew and to leave OM at the end of this season. I think it’s the best decision for the next part of my career," he told Telefoot..

“I’m at a point in my career where I want to progress, to discover a new challenge, a new league. I’ve chosen my future club, you’ll find out who it is soon.”

The 22-year-old emerged as a key player for OM in recent seasons, even breaking into Didier Deschamps' France squad and drawing attention from across the continent.

He had helped OM qualify for the Champions League on Saturday evening, with his team beating Strasbourg 4-0 at the Stade Velodrome.