The agent of Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba has suggested that an exit from the club could be imminent.
The 29-year-old has yet to feature for us this season as he has struggled to make an impression on Unai Emery since he arrived in October, while he failed to work his way back up the pecking order after returning from a long-term knee injury under Steven Gerrard.
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With Villa now upgrading in that area of the squad and having several important options available, it doesn’t look as though Nakamba’s situation at the club is going to change any time soon, and so while Emery himself has publicly left the door open for him to leave this month, his agent has now suggested an exit could be close.
“Nakamba and Sanson have the possibility to leave,” Emery said in his pre-Southampton press conference. “If they leave, the idea is to maybe add one more player as a midfielder.”
Nakamba’s agent, David Manasseh, has now added: “I’m working on it, I’m sure by tomorrow we will have a result,” he is quoted as saying by BirminghamLive.
Nakamba has made 68 appearances for Villa after arriving from Club Brugge in 2019, and while he has played a key role for us at times and should be praised for the impact he made, it was all-too limited and as we look to compete at a higher level moving forward, it’s natural that we’re looking at other options.
With no mention of an interested party or how far along a possible deal to move on is, it remains to be seen if all the pieces fall into place before the January transfer window, but it certainly sounds as though there is an effort to find a solution for all concerned.
It’s the right decision to move him on given his lack of involvement as it clears his salary off the books and makes space in the squad for Emery to bring in his own midfield option. Further, with Nakamba’s current contract set to expire in June 2024, it also makes business sense to sell him now to try and get some sort of fee rather than see him run down his deal and potentially end up leaving for nothing.
