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London.— Marvelous Nakamba should brace himself for an extended time on the bench in the forthcoming English Premiership season, should Aston Villa secure all their targets with a £76 million splash on new recruits.
That’s the view of Ashley Preece, the journalist who covers Villa for the Birmingham Mail, and is considered an expert on the Birmingham Club.
Preece is the same journalist who ranked Nakamba as the club’s standout player before the league was halted by the Covid-19 outbreak.
However, according to Preece, the Zimbabwean midfielder’s performance levels went down during Project Restart.
Villa look set to announce the initial £28 million signing of Ollie Watkins — smashing their transfer record by £6 million.
The imminent arrival of Watkins, scorer of 26 goals last term, will be a huge boost for manager Dean Smith ahead of the new campaign.
Villa have a friendly against Manchester United this weekend before competitive action kicks in next week (September 15) in the Carabao Cup at Burton Albion.
Watkins will follow Nottingham Forest fullback Matty Cash through the door, while there remains solid interest in £16 million-rated Josh Kin from Bournemouth, £15 million-valued Arsenal stopper Emiliano Martinez, young gun Rhian Brewster and Chelsea midfielder Connor Gallagher, 20.
Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez remains high on Smith’s agenda with Villa — according to the Daily Mail — pushing hard in a deal worth £15 million.
The Argentine, 28, will revert to a back-up stopper, in line with Bernd Leno’s return from injury, with those closest to Martinez confirm Villa are leading the race to sign him.
Ahead of Martinez, Villa’s defence will be pretty regimented knowing favoured pairing Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings will behind the new campaign at the heart of Smith’s back line.
At left-back, Matt Targett will look to continue his development after being touted as a future England left-back option by Smith during a decent run of form last year.
At right-back, it’ll be a straight shoot-out between new signing Matty Cash and Frederic Guilbert, the latter attracting interest, according to reports in France.
Cash, meanwhile, will have a job on his hands winning his starting shirt with Guilbert a fierce competitor.
In midfield, Douglas Luiz is up there with Jack Grealish for being the first name on Smith’s Villa team sheet.
The Brazilian was a monster throughout Project Restart and looked every bit a Manchester City player.
The 22-year-old will be Villa’s anchorman in Smith’s favoured three-man midfield, and will look to continue forging a strong bond with John McGinn.
The Scot struggled for match sharpness at the back-end of last season after picking up a hairline shin fracture in the March.
McGinn will be hoping to set the Premier League alight once more, though, in a similar vein to when he did so this time last season.
Arguably Villa’s most fretted position, meanwhile, is alongside McGinn with Conor Hourihane looking most-likely to keep his starting shirt for the curtain-raiser.
The Cork-born star really came to the fore when Villa needed him to during the Restart and plucked out valuable assists to help Villa stave off relegation. Hourihane will be looking to really kick on this year after an up and down 2019/20.
Now, to the most crucial area of the pitch, Smith will be desperate for Villa to add a clinical and devastating edge to their game with Mbwana Samatta and Keinan Davis both looking void of confidence upon Villa’s Premier League conclusion.
Brazilian striker Wesley remains sidelined for the next few months, meaning new boy Ollie Watkins will undoubtedly get the chance to shine from the get-go should he complete his £33 million transfer in the coming days.
Watkins’ arrival could begin a bit of a domino effect in terms of Villa’s incomings with Smith looking at bringing in £16 million Josh King to bolster his front-line as well. Like Watkins,
King can play and float anywhere across the forward prong, while also possessing the ability to drop deep to help bring others into play.
King, Watkins and England’s Jack Grealish just screams danger and chaos.
Villa’s skipper will come back somewhat powered-up after an extended break away on his maiden England call-up, learning from the likes of Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Jadon Sancho.
You get the feeling, King and Grealish could well provide the ammunition for Watkins up front – with the pair themselves vying for double figures in the Premier League this coming season – on top of Watkins’ return.
There’s just goals, goals, goals in that new-look attack and supporters should be really excited by its potential should deals get done.
Aston Villa’s strongest-possible XI (4-3-3): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Hourihane; King, Watkins, Grealish. Subs: Steer, Guilbert, Hause, Nakamba, Gallagher, Trezeguet, Samatta. — Sports Reporter/Birmingham Mail.
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