Zimpapers Logo

Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter

MARVELOUS Nakamba might have to look elsewhere if he is to get game-time.

The Warriors midfielder continues with his frustrating stay at English Premier League football side Aston Villa after he was once again left out on the bench on Monday night.

The Clarets and Blue were booed at the end of their 1-1 draw against newcomers Nottingham Forest at the City Ground as their indifferent start to the new season continued.

They even had to chase the game with Emmanuel Dennis opening the scoring for the hosts before the Steven Gerrard’s side equalised through veteran left-back Ashley Young.

Nakamba was an unused substitute on a day he would have ordinarily been deployed given the stature of the opposition.

But Gerrard went for a three-man midfield of captain John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey.

As the former Liverpool captain searched for dynamism in the middle of the park, he plucked out McGinn for new signing Leander Dendoncker with 15 minutes to play.

Nakamba remained on the bench for the entire 90 minutes. The 28-year-old has fallen down the pecking order and he could be forced to move away from Villa Park in the next transfer window in January 2023.

The Zimbabwean has failed to make the Villa match-day squad in four of the nine matches they have played so far this season with the Bantu Rovers product sitting out matches against Bournemouth, Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City.

He has been unused on the bench against Crystal Palace, West Ham, Southampton, Leeds United and lately Nottingham Forest.

Gerrard, who took over from Dean Smith last term, is certainly not a fan of Nakamba whom he has indicated could be transferred should there be any suitors.

Nakamba was once rumoured to have caught the interests of Fulham and Nottingham Forest just before the summer transfer window closed on September 1.

Gerrard was recently quoted in Birmingham media as saying he thought Nakamba and others would have liked to leave.

“They (Nakamba and two other players) are contracted here to Aston Villa and I’ll certainly get a feel of all those players on where they are at with their thinking, with what they tell me and the feedback I get and we’ll go from there.

“There are obviously a few players who I assume would have liked, or had the opportunity to go elsewhere, like Morgan Sanson, or (Marvelous) Nakamba for example. It is important I have a chat with all these players face-to-face,” said Gerrard.

“But they are very much human beings with feelings.

“You have to understand everyone’s situation. That is the issue the window brings . . . ”

The new status with Nakamba under Gerrard is in stark contrast to what used to be the case when the former England skipper first arrived at Villa. The Zimbabwean enjoyed much game-time before he got injured.

Even when he was coming back from the long injury lay-off, Gerrard admitted he had asked Nakamba to do extra training to catch up so he would get down to business as he had done before.

But everything has changed. The Zimbabwean can’t even play a few minutes in a match against minnows Nottingham Forest and it’s time he might as well consider a move in January.

Nakamba might, however, still fancy his chances of staying at the Birmingham side with fans clamoring for Gerrard’s ouster.

His team was booed off the pitch by the away fans following a shoddy show at the City Stadium on Monday night. Gerrard has won just two games in nine outings while drawing three times. A number of coaches are already being linked up to the Villa job and they include Mauricio Pochettino, Brendan Rodgers, Sean Dyche and Rafa Benitez.

The hope is, if Gerrard exits, the next Villa boss will have a soft spot for Nakamba and probably give him a new lease of life at the club.