Aston Villa are considering a loan move for AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek after a serious injury to Boubacar Kamara.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Kamara is expected to miss the rest of the 2025-26 season after sustaining a left knee injury during their FA Cup win at Tottenham Hotspur on January 10. Villa had previously stated that the Frenchman was only anticipated to miss a few weeks with the issue, but that prognosis changed.
Earlier this month, Unai Emery’s side were interested in a move for Conor Gallagher, but the midfielder instead joined Tottenham from Atletico Madrid. Options other than Loftus-Cheek are on the table as Villa consider the loan market.
Kamara, 26, has been a regular for Villa in the Premier League and Champions League this season, making 26 appearances in all competitions. He has, though, struggled with injuries since joining on a free transfer from Marseille in 2022, including rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee in August 2024.
Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, has appeared in all but two of Milan’s 21 Serie A games this season, though he has started only nine times. The 29-year-old has made 90 appearances for Milan since moving from Chelsea in the summer of 2023, scoring 11 goals.
In September, he earned a recall to the England squad for the first time in six years under Thomas Tuchel, one of his former managers at Chelsea. He played once in that window, was called up but did not play in the October window and was then left out of the November squad.
Loftus-Cheek could be an easy solution
Villa have been influenced by injuries to Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley in turning to the loan market to secure a midfielder.
Loftus-Cheek received an England call-up earlier this year and has the type of attributes that ordinarily stand out with Emery. Although he is not a stylistic replacement for Kamara, who serves as Villa’s midfield anchor, Emery could reshape the midfield, utilising Loftus-Cheek’s drive and powerful runs forward, with other players, like Youri Tielemans, Lamare Bogarde and Onana, who is set to return, moving into a deeper role.
Villa have other options, but Loftus-Cheek’s Premier League experience, plus his natural physicality, suggests he would not need time to settle back in England.
