Zimbabwe’s Nakamba lives to fight another day

Zimbabwe international midfielder Marvelous Nakamba has been presented another chance to fight for game time at Aston Villa after retaining his place in the team despite intially being transfer listed by coach Steven Gerrard.

Without a doubt, this is another chance to impress and prove his worth to the former Liverpool captain who was full of praise for the Bantu Rovers product in his early days as the team’s manager.

Ahead of the just closed transfer window, Nakamba along with his African compatriot Betrand Traore and Dutchman with Egyptian roots Anwar El Ghazi were transfer listed.

Traore has since been loaned to Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir.

The Burkina Faso skipper followed the path of Tanzanian Mbwana Samatta and Egyptian Trézéguet who surfaced in Turkey after falling out of favor at Villa Park .

On Wednesday the club only confirmed the departure of El Ghazi to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands after a four year stint, which ultimately means Nakamba stays put in the England top-flight.

“Aston Villa can confirm that Anwar El Ghazi has joined PSV Eindhoven for an undisclosed fee.

“The Dutch winger returns to his homeland after a four-year stay at Villa, helping the Club to win promotion back to the Premier League in his first season, scoring the crucial opening goal in the Play-Off Final at Wembley.

“The 27-year-old scored six goals in his maiden top-flight campaign in England, going on to score 11 goals in 2020/21. After scoring three times at the start of last term, he spent the second part of the season on loan at Everton.

“Everyone at Aston Villa would like to thank Anwar for his service and contribution to the Club and wish him all the best in his future career,” the club said.

Nakamba is the only African remaining in the Claret and Blue ranks. So far, he has mainly been restricted to the bench.

How he will fare under the present circumstances remains to be seen but the Banti Rovers product will hope to regain Gerrard’s trust again.