Can Nakamba spark a marvel for Villa?

From the town of Hwange in Zimbabwe to Birmingham’s Aston Villa, Marvelous Nakamba has been on a long yet thrilling journey through Europe’s footballing divisions but can the central midfielder become an influential player for the Villans in one of the most viewed football leagues in the world?

No pressure Marvelous!

Marvelous spent 18 years in his home country of Zimbabwe before moving to the region of Lorraine in France where he played for Nancy for 2 years making 32 appearances for their youth team. Nakamba was then promoted to the first team where he played 2 games before being offered a new deal however he opted to go on trial at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem where he eventually signed on a four-year contract.

A move to Eastern Holland proved to be a breakthrough period in the midfield maestro’s footballing career with Marvelous making 69 appearances in three years, a period in which he began to portray his tenaciousness and industrious mindset. Then he caught the eye of Belgian club Club Brugge who signed Nakamba on a four-year deal for £4 million. The midfielder made a further 49 appearances for Brugge where he won the Belgium First Division in his first season.

“Strong, dominant, left-footed and loves a midfield battle,” a perfect description of Marvelous from Birmingham Live’s Villa reporter Ashley Preece post the player’s arrival to Aston Villa with the West Midlands club spending £11 million on the Zimbabwean international. After making his debut against Crewe Alexandra in the Third Round of the Carabao Cup, Nakamba hasn’t looked back since with the 25-year old impressing the Villa faithful game after game however the question on everybody’s lips is can Nakamba consistently perform to a high level?

The midfielder has reenergised Dean Smith’s side with the Zimbabwean warrior striking a clear resemblance to the World Cup winning tenacious tackler N’Golo Kanté. He runs, kicks and charges down every single ball with his speed and artfulness giving him an advantage over his opponents. With only 2 goals in 111 games, Marvelous Nakamba isn’t expected to contribute with goals but as he has shown in a claret and blue shirt so far this season, the midfielder can shield the back four brilliantly as well as positively contributing to the attack with a broad passing range.

As we progress through the season, Nakamba will become an influential player in Dean Smith’s side with the tenacity of the Premier League suiting the African warrior preferably accompanied by John McGinn and Jack Grealish in the midfield. Hopefully a convincing victory against Norwich City will be the start of a positive run of results for Villa and Marvelous.