Nakamba ‘better off away from Villa’

BIRMINGHAM. — Aston Villa saw a number of players exiting the Midlands club during the summer transfer window.

One player currently in Steven Gerrard’s squad who we think should be following those out the door in the near future is Marvelous Nakamba, for whom the English Premiership football club had been willing to entertain offers last month, according to reports in his native Zimbabwe.

Villa signed the midfielder from Club Brugge three years ago in a deal worth over £11m. Since then, the 28-year-old has made 68 appearances for the club outfit across all competitions, picking up 16 yellow cards but no goals or assists.

While a knee injury did keep him out of action for a large chunk of the 2021/22 season, his performances in the 16 games in which he did appear didn’t do much to convince Gerrard that he has what it takes to be a regular figure under the 42-year-old.

Specifically, those performances earned the Zimbabwean a rather underwhelming overall season rating of 6.45/10 from WhoScored, leaving 15 other Villa players with a higher rating.

Things haven’t been much better for the £32.5k-per-week midfielder this season either, as he is yet to make an English Premier League appearance and has only been involved in two match-day squads.

Bearing in mind how Villa brought in Boubacar Kamara on a free transfer in May and have seen him start all six of their league games so far this term, it seems as though Gerrard already has his ideal replacement for Nakamba.

With the Frenchman making almost as many tackles (15) and interceptions (12) and recording nearly as many successful pressures (47) already this term than the 28-year-old managed in the whole of 2021/22, it seems that the Zimbabwe international has a tough challenge on his hands getting back into the Villa team.

Previously described as a “dangerous” player by team-mate Frederic Guilbert, Nakamba could well be better off at another club, where he would be able to play regular football.

With all that in mind, it should be in Johan Lange’s plans to move the Zimbabwean out of Villa Park at some point in the future if the opportunity arises, rather than seeing him waste his time by not playing. —Readastonvilla.com.