Aston Villa are refusing to sell Marvelous Nakamba after Newcastle United and Crystal Palace made enquiries about the seldom-seen midfielder, as reported by NewsDay.
The two players who arrived from Club Brugge in the summer of 2019 have barely kicked a ball between them this season; albeit for very different reasons.
While Wesley Moraes is yet to return from a ligament injury that has kept him out of action for 12 months, Nakamba has fallen behind Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Ross Barkley in Dean Smith’s pecking order.
The £11 million Zimbabwe international has started just two Premier League games this season. And with Morgan Sanson joining from Marseille, Nakamba is up against it if he wants to add to that meagre tally before the end of the campaign.
Yet this does not mean the former Vitesse Arnhem enforcer will be packing his bags and heading out of the Second City before Monday’s transfer deadline.
NewsDay report that Newcastle and Crystal Palace both failed with approaches for the tough-tackling 27-year-old.
Steve Bruce’s Newcastle have been scouring the market for an aggressive, tenacious central midfielder for over a year now and Nakamba seemingly caught their eye during last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Villa Park.
The energetic midfielder completed 98 per cent of his passes against the Magpies (WhoScored).
“Marvelous Nakamba came in and was excellent,” Smith said at full-time (Birmingham Mail).
“That’s important when you’ve got a structure and a good organisation and players come in and know their roles. That’s really important for the players and the team that they can settle in straight away.
El Mercantil Valenciano claim Nakamba is also a target for Spanish giants Valencia, although the smart money is on the midfielder staying until the summer.
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