Jonty Banks

Sun 4 June 2023 8:10, UK

Despite enjoying an extremely successful loan spell at Luton Town, Marvelous Nakamba still has a fight on his hands to secure a long-term future at Aston Villa.

Nakamba, 29, was granted a January move to Kenilworth Road after the arrival of Unai Emery and helped the Championship outfit gain promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs.

During his stint at Luton, the midfielder started 19 consecutive games and ended his loan with a successfully converted penalty against Coventry City at Wembley.

However, after his rich vein of form while on loan, the question remains whether he can cut the mustard for Emery and be a part of Villa’s European adventure next season.

According to the Opta-powered stats on FBREF, Nakamba has recorded some of the best defensive statistics of Championship midfielders this season.

The 29-year-old is in the 98th percentile of his counterparts for tackles per game, recording an impressive 4.05 per 90 minutes. The midfielder is also in the top 10% for dribblers tackled (1,71 per 90) and combined tackles and interceptions per outing (5.06 per 90).

Despite his impressive defensive contributions for The Hatters, Nakamba doesn’t fulfil the needs of Emery when in possession of the ball.

Over the last year, the Zimbabwean international has recorded an average of just 47.75 touches per 90 minutes and a meagre 36.24 passes per game.

What is even more worrying is his pass completion rate of 80.8%, which is considerably less than Leander Dendoncker (87.2%), Douglas Luiz (82.5%) and Boubacar Kamara (84.8%).

It is clear that Nakamba possesses the defensive game to play a part under Emery, however, his lack of ambition and accuracy on the ball is his kryptonite.

With several incomings expected this summer and Emery expected to be given a war chest upwards of £200million, Nakamba could fall just short of securing a first-team future at Villa Park.

In other Aston Villa news, Manchester City want to sign this Women’s star from the Villans.