Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WHEN Luton Town were relegated from the English Championship last weekend, they became only the fourth club in the Premier League era to suffer successive demotions after just a season in the top-flight.
The Hatters dropped to League One with a 3-5 defeat at the hands of West Brom last Saturday, sealing their fate.
They joined Swindon, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sunderland as the only other sides to have slipped from the Premier League into the Championship and then slide further down into League One.
Luton were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2023/2024 season and are now going further down the levels of the English game.
According to BBC Sport, Luton’s demise sparked an uproar amongst their fans, with some questioning whether the players were fit to wear the team’s shirt.
“Sorry to our supporters for travelling up and down the country, supporting us this season.
“We understand their disappointment and anger right now,” Luton manager Matt Bloomfield was quoted as saying soon after the loss against West Brom.
Added Bloomfield: “It is totally understandable, the frustration, the disappointment and the anger, because we needed a big performance today, and we didn’t deliver one.
“We have to understand there’s going to be a reaction off the back of it.”
Although Bloomfield is confident the Hatters will bounce back, reliable sources say Luton’s Zimbabwe international midfielder Marvelous Nakamba may not be part of their ensemble.
According to the sources, the Zimbabwe captain, whose season was blighted by injuries, has been pondering his future in the wake of interest from several clubs across Europe.
The sources claim that there are some clubs in Saudi Arabia and the United States that have been monitoring Nakamba’s status.
Nakamba has recovered from a nagging knee injury that forced him out of action for several weeks in the just-ended season, including missing out on the Warriors’ World Cup qualifier against Nigeria and Benin.
After missing action in March, the 31-year-old Nakamba bounced back and played just nine minutes when Luton edged Derby County 1-0 at Pride Park on April 18.
Since then, he has not played any minutes for the Hatters.
Overall, the Zimbabwean made 21 appearances for The Hatters, including 15 starts, accumulating 1 298 minutes in the process.
“The good thing is that Marve (Nakamba) is now free from injury,” said the source.
Nakamba initially joined Luton Town on loan from Aston Villa in January 2023 before switching to The Hatters on a permanent basis in July of that year.
He made 13 Premiership appearances for Luton, who were subsequently relegated at the end of the 2023/2024 season.
Nakamba has just over a year left on his contract with Luton, and the Hatters might want to cash in on the Zimbabwean should an offer arise this summer.
“There is something cooking.
“Offers are coming from Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and Major League Soccer in the USA,” added the sources.
It has also emerged that a yet-to-be-named club in Turkey is also tracking Nakamba amid reported interest from a few English Championship clubs.
“For now, he hasn’t made any decision. It’s time for him to rest and chill out with his family before making a decision.”
Nakamba has over a decade of experience in European football, having started his professional career at French Ligue 2 side Nancy in 2013.
He then moved to the Netherlands in 2014, where he won the Eredivisie’s major cup, KNVB Beker, with Vitesse.
His exploits at the Dutch club attracted Belgian giants Club Brugge, who swooped on him in 2017.
Nakamba then spent three seasons in Belgium before making his biggest move to date — the 11 million-pound move to Aston Villa in August 2019.
