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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
WHAT was supposed to be a day of merry-making turned out to be a day to forget for Zimbabwe international Marvelous Nakamba after he was told by Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to pack his bags and leave the club on Thursday.
The Villa boss ended the speculation surrounding the midfielder’s future with the English Premiership football club after he bluntly announced on Thursday that Nakamba was not in his plans.
Apparently Nakamba is one of the three players that have been put on the transfer list by the club, along with Frenchman Morgan Sanson and Swedish Ludwig Augustinsson.
The news should have hurt Nakamba hard as the midfielder was celebrating his 29th birthday on the same day (Thursday). The writing had been on the wall for Nakamba for a long time, though.
Emery, who took over from England great Steven Gerrard as Villa’s head coach in October last year, is looking to improve his squad and Nakamba has always been a target for disposal despite holding a contract that runs through to June 2024.
“In other positions as well we are speaking about how we can improve, some players like Nakamba, I told him to leave,” Emery was quoted by The Birmingham Mail, in the build-up to this evening’s clash with Southampton.
“Sanson as well is in the possibility to leave, but Sanson for me is a very good player. He understands very well how we want to play and he has the skill to do it.
“But he has to play in a team to be consistent, trying to play more and here it’s difficult to give him it – he is as well finding something to leave.
“If they are leaving – Nakamba, Sanson, maybe we will try to add one player, an inside midfielder. It’s not clear about this possibility because I want to sign one player (who will) improve the quality of the squad.”
The Warriors international signed for Aston Villa from Belgian giants Club Brugge for €12m in August 2019. The midfielder has made 58 English Premier League appearances since joining the club, 29 coming in his maiden season in the 2019/20 season.
He followed that up with 13 appearances the next season but has had to grapple with a series of injuries and loss of form. Last year Nakamba had 16 appearances but was yet to play a minute this year, with the English Premier League season now approaching round 20.
Nakamba, who had fallen out of favor with previous managers Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and his interim successor Aaron Danks, still found it difficult to get game-time under Emery.
The Spaniard had indicated before the World Cup break that he had wanted to get a closer look on Nakamba and other players in the fringes before making a decision ahead of the January transfer window. But playing opportunities continued to evade the Zimbabwe international.
As if to confirm that he no longer had the Zimbabwean in his plans, Emery used him sparingly during the mid-season friendly games. Apart from playing an hour against Cardiff City, playing minutes continued to be scarce for Nakamba.
He featured a combined 15 minutes in the two friendly games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea during Villa’s training camp in the United Arab Emirates.
He was also given five minutes when Villa returned home from the Middle East to face Spanish side Villarreal as they stepped up their match fitness in readiness for the return of English Premier League action.
Villa had reportedly opened offers for the Zimbabwe international but it seems they have not received any suitors to do business with.
Nakamba’s market value has slumped by more than half since arriving in England in 2019. Transfermarkt.com now values him at €5m, a massive fall from the €12m that was forked out by Villa almost four years ago.
“Nakamba… was a key figure in the early days of Steven Gerrard’s reign but a knee injury stunted his progress in claret and blue,” observed the Daily Mail.
“The Zimbabwean international is yet to stake a claim within the first team since that run of games in 2021, with the signings of Leander Dendoncker and Boubacar Kamara seemingly putting the writing on the wall for the fan favourite.
“Nakamba has been used sparingly across the mid-season friendlies by Emery, with the midfielder yet to feature for more than ten minutes against Villarreal, Chelsea and Brighton respectively.
“When playing at his best, Nakamba can be an asset to any team with his disruptive play ahead of the defence, talents which should be on display regularly as he approaches the end of his 20s.”
But should Nakamba and the other players move, it could open the door for another new arrival at Villa Park, with Emery saying that he’s looking to improve the quality of his squad. Villa have been linked with an interest in Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi.
Asked about the balance of his squad, Emery said: “We are trying to get the balance, but I want to change some players, trying to add the possibilities of putting in the squad, trying to improve and to work for the next month going up in this balance, but not yet.”
Online Reporter