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Lawrence Moyo, Head Zimpapers Sports Hub
AS the major European football leagues reach the end of their 2023/24 domestic seasons, four Zimbabwe internationals are facing relegation in England, France, Italy and Türkiye.
In England, Warriors captain Marvelous Nakamba’s Luton Town have three matches to try and survive the chop after one season in the English Premiership, while in Italy versatile midfielder Jordan Zemura’s Udinese have four games to escape the chop in the Serie A.
Front man Tino Kadewere’s Nantes are battling to stay in the French Ligue 1 and have three games to achieve that, while defender Teenage Hadebe has not met with joy on his return to Türkiye.
His side Konyaspor are in danger of the chop from the Turkish Super Lig with just four matches left.
NAKAMBA
Nakamba’s Luton Town face Everton tonight in a must-win match, as they occupy the third and final relegation slot with 25 points from 35 games, a point behind Nottingham Forest who are 17th but remain confident of overturning the four points deduction that has put them in danger.
Outside of Nottingham Forest, Luton Town’s survival hopes are as good as finished as 16th-placed Brentford are 10 points ahead, a tally that cannot be overhauled in three remaining games.
After tonight’s clash with Everton, Luton will visit West Ham and then conclude their term at home to Fulham and these are three matches that are winnable for the Haters.
Unfortunately for Nakamba, he will not be able to have a say on how the season concludes for Luton as he is still out with a long-term injury.
The former Aston Villa midfielder underwent surgery on a torn meniscus and has been making his way back via rehab.
He injured his knee during training at Luton in December. At that stage, Nakamba had featured in 13 matches, 12 of them successive from the opening day of the season.
Injury initially ruled him out of three matches against Crystal Palace, Brentford, and Arsenal between November 25 and December 5.
Nakamba then returned to the team on December 10 at home to champions Manchester City for what was to be his last match of the campaign as he has been sidelined since then, missing 19 league matches in a row.
Having been a bit-part player at Aston Villa, Nakamba is still to have a complete season in the English Premiership, and at Luton, he had the best chance to achieve that as all his 13 appearances in the 2023/24 season were from the starting XI.
ZEMURA
Warriors defender, Jordan Zemura made history when he became the first Zimbabwean to play in the Italian Serie A following his move from Bournemouth in the English Premiership to join Udinese who were making a return to the topflight league.
It has, however, been a turbulent season for Zemura, who is equally at home as a midfielder as he is in defence.
His Udinese, have been stuck in the drop zone for much of the season.
They could easily have been in the safe zone but a recent run of four defeats and two draws, yielding two points from a possible 18 has left them two points from safety going into the final four matches, starting with a home match against former champions and ninth-placed Napoli on Monday night.
After that, Udinese will play 13th-placed Lecce (away), 17th-placed Empoli in a massive six-pointer at home, and 16th-placed Frosinone in another six-pointer away on the final day.
Despite being third from bottom, Udinese still have destiny in their own hands as they have to play their two closest rivals in the final four matchdays.
Zemura has played a part in 25 of Udinese’s 34 matches in the Serie A so far and has scored one goal.
KADEWERE
When Kadewere left Olympique Lyon for Nantes on loan during the January transfer window, his parent club were deep in the French Ligue 1 drop zone while Nantes were seemingly comfortable although in the bottom half.
However, with Kadewere now at Nantes, Lyon have already secured their status for next season and sit comfortably in eighth place with 44 points from 31 matches, 15 points ahead of 16th-placed Metz, who occupy the final relegation place.
Kadewere has made 11 appearances for Nantes in the league, scoring just one goal.
Meanwhile, Nantes are just three points from safety and have the French Ligue 1’s third WORST goal difference of minus 20 which means they cannot afford to lose matches, especially if those below them win.
Unfortunately, Nantes have a very tough conclusion to the season — they face three of the French Ligue 1 Top 4.
Next up for Nantes, who have managed just seven points from their last eight matches, is a trip to third-placed Brest tomorrow night. The remaining two matches will be at home to fourth-placed Lille and away to second-placed Monaco on the final day.
HADEBE
Centre-back Hadebe moved back to Turkey in January after ending his stint in the United States and joined Konyaspor in the 20-team Super Lig.
They have lost successive matches and collected eight points from a possible 21 since the beginning of March to leave them in 16th place just six points above 19th-placed Pendik.
Konyaspor are just two points from the relegation zone and have four matches remaining against second-placed Fenerbahce (home), 13th-placed Samsunspor (home), 12th-placed Kayseri (away) and leaders Galatasaray (home) on the final day of the season.
Hadebe has featured in seven Super Lig matches since joining Konyaspor and was an unused.
Online Reporter