Steven Gerrard’s sacking by Aston Villa after just 11 months at the helm in October not only represented the first major setback of his still embryonic managerial career, it also brought about a fundamental alternation to the club’s January plans.
TEAMtalk reported in September, just three weeks before the fateful 3-0 defeat at Fulham which cost Gerrard his job, that the former Ibrox boss could be reunited with a familiar face at Villa Park; one Glen Kamara.
A key cog in Rangers’ ‘Invicinbles’ machine; the £10 million-rated Finland international was one of Gerrard’s most trusted lieutenants north of the border. And the excellent relationship between player and coach made Aston Villa the clear favourites to secure his signature ahead of Leeds United and co.
“I have always dreamed of playing in the Premier League,” Kamara said at the time. “Let’s see what happens. My time at Rangers has been good. The club has been good to me. I’ve been there for almost four years. Who knows what the future will bring.
“We just have to wait and see what happens.”
Steven Gerrard reportedly wanted Rangers’ Glen Kamara at Aston Villa
What happened, of course, is that the axe would fall on Steven Gerrard. And Villa’s interest in Kamara appears to have followed the former Liverpool captain out of the exit door; Unai Emery arriving with his own array of transfer targets.
Even if Gerrard had staved off the sack, it would be difficult to justify a £10 million outlay on Kamara. Arguably no other player at Ibrox has declined quite so dramatically in the post-Gerrard era north of the border; A midfielder who once went toe-to-toe with some of the biggest clubs on the continent in the Europa League now stumbling through games against lower-level domestic opposition.
A fading shadow of his once imposing best.
Kamara was hauled off at half-time during Rangers’ dismal 1-1 draw with St Mirren recently, and started only three Scottish Premiership games between August and November’s World Cup break.
It appears his most likely destination, these days, is Salernitana in Serie A.
The impending appointment of another head coach at Rangers – their third in just one year – could represent a potential turning point in Kamara’s ailing Ibrox career. A fresh start and a clean slate. And with a move to Aston Villa seemingly off the table, Kamara could do a lot worse than to get his head down, re-focus and rediscover the form that earned him Gerrard’s admiration in the first place.
