admin
Phillip Zulu Special Correspondent
IT was expected, and indeed Zimbabwe international midfielder Marvelous Nakamba moved on loan to join promotion chasing Luton Town on a six-month deal.
Nakamba’s next move had become topical and his decision to drop one tier from the English Premiership football to the English Championship came as no surprise to most ardent fans of the Warriors when news of his departure from Aston Villa was announced.
By joining Luton Town at this juncture of chasing promotion into the English Premiership, it looks increasingly strategic in terms of an early return to the top-flight football. Playing in the Championship at this stage of his career gives him the platform to be involved in some tough hard core games which he greatly missed out by sitting on the bench at Villa.
Nakamba has to dig deeper to get back into the trenches of one of the toughest leagues in world football. If he posts good performances that will help catapult Luton Town to automatic promotion into the English Premiership, then his short-term loan deal of six months would perfectly revive his nose-diving career.
But prospects of automatic qualification are less, as Luton Town have fallen 17 points behind log leaders Burnley in the English Championship race, with the campaign now approaching the homestretch.
Still, Nakamba has to turn the tide in his favour, this is a huge platform in the English Championship to prove his worth by working harder than before.
He has to silence his critics in great style, but the expectations of ever watching him play for the top English Premiership clubs have vanished by his less impact on the pitch at Aston Villa, especially after he was left out in the cold by successive Villa coaches this season.
He needed to move away to a club where he can get regular game-time despite still having a year remaining on his contract with the modest English Premier League side. Many had hoped that one day, the next transfer was going to be a top six English Premiership club but reality is sinking in, one step down to the English Championship has sealed his fate.
Some argue that he came to the English Premier League very late in his career, he should have arrived much earlier in his early 20s so that he could adapt to the high demands of this top league much quicker.
At 29 years of age, Nakamba has accepted his fate and should now try to move on. He still has a couple of seasons in him, provided he maintains focus. He can still make it back to Villa if he manages to lift himself up, given his contract runs until June 2024.
Many fans have been disappointed by his lack of progress at Aston Villa and hope for the next rising Warrior is tipping on the young fledgling Zimbabwean players in top-flight professional teams such as Jordan Zemura (Bournemouth), Isaac Mabaya (Liverpool Under-23), Tawanda Maswanise (Leicester City), Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea) and many others in the academies and professional youth structures in the UK such as Sean Fusire, who made his senior team debut at League One side Sheffield Wednesday during the FA Cup fourth round match against Fleetwood at the age of 17 years on Tuesday.
Nakamba’s demise in failing to progress further at the highest level in the English Premier League certainly opens another door for the young fledgling Zimbabwean players who are slowly rising in good numbers in England.
Online Reporter