Aston Villa and Zimbabwe midfielder Marvelous Nakamba deserves a run in Steven Gerrard’s side.
That is according to Birmingham Live writer John Townley, who shared his opinion on Twitter, following the news that Boubacar Kamara is likely to face a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
According to L’Equipe (via BirminghamLive) Kamara has suffered a “big sprain” in his knee, and is likely to miss the next two months of action, meaning he likely won’t return to Gerrard’s side until after the break for the World Cup.
The Frenchman’s injury means opportunity knocks in the middle of the park for some of Villa’s fringe midfielders, with Nakamba not having made an appearance for the club so far this season.
And Townley believes that the 28-year-old deserves a chance to feature in Villa’s midfield following Kamara’s lay-off.
“Marvelous Nakamba could have left #AVFC in the summer despite being the stand-out performer under Steven Gerrard in his first five games,” Townley tweeted.
“Whether he has a future at Villa or not, Nakamba deserves the chance to cover Boubacar Kamara next month.”
TIF Thoughts on Townley’s comments
Whilst we believe that Nakamba may now be a more regular feature in the squad following Kamara’s injury, we still think that the 26-time Zimbabwe midfielder will struggle to get a run of games in Gerrard’s side.
The club spent £13m on bringing Leander Dendoncker across the West Midlands from Wolverhampton Wanderers on transfer deadline day, and we think that the Belgium international will be the former Rangers manager’s go-to option in the middle of the park.
Therefore, we think Nakamba may get more opportunities off the bench, and will perhaps be given a run out in Villa’s Carabao Cup tie at Manchester United in November, but Premier League football looks set to be a big ask for the former Club Brugge man.