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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

Nakamba ‘s chance to impress Emery

Sport

By Fortune Mbele | Nov. 30, 2022

Marvelous Nakamba

WARRIORS midfielder Marvelous Nakamba has a chance to make an impression on new Aston Villa boss Unai Emery in a friendly match against Cardiff City in South Wales tonight.

The Zimbabwean is one of the players who was reportedly transfer-listed at Villa before coach Steve Gerrard was sacked.

He has struggled for game time this season and alarm bells have been ringing for the Zimbabwean international, who did not make it into the team for Emery’s two league matches and was deemed only good enough for a place on the bench when Aston Villa lost 2-4 to Manchester United in the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford on November 10.

He will be hoping for a change of fortunes by impressing the manager with a host of the team’s players out in Qatar for the World Cup.

Nakamba is one of the 16 players at the Villa’s club’s Bodymoor Heath training centre and journalist Ashley Preece writes in the Birmingham Mail that the former Club Brugge midfielder could start tonight under Emery’s watchful eye.

“Moving into midfield and head coach Emery will want to have a good look at Marvelous Nakamba who’s yet to feature this season. The 28-year-old has failed to make Emery’s two Premier League squads but was on the bench for the cup defeat to United earlier this month. A two-man midfield pivot of Nakamba and Boubacar Kamara could be an option for Emery, while other options are, of course, Douglas Luiz and Morgan Sanson,” Preece said.

In August when the Liverpool legend Gerrard was in charge, the British daily newspaper, the Daily Mirror reported that Nakamba was on the departure lounge and Aston Villa was welcoming offers for a number of their players, including the Warriors man.

The Zimbabwean had been Gerrard’s go-to man in the centre of Villa’s midfield the previous season until he suffered a serious knee injury that kept him on the sidelines for five months.